Welcome to Money and Politics

Activities

Welcome to moneyandpolitics.net

Promoting political integrity through the establishment of transparent and accountable systems of political finance and public ethics is a priority in emerging, consolidating, and established democracies. Recognizing that each environment requires a unique approach, IFES partners with international organizations and works with all key in-country stakeholders – government institutions, political parties, civil society groups, media, and scholars – in a collaborative and holistic manner to support effective and appropriate transparency and accountability measures.

IFES has identified a series of gaps related to political finance and public ethics in standards, information, capacity, monitoring and oversight, cross-border transactions, and advocacy. There is a need to address these gaps by conducting standard setting applied research, identifying best-practices, and assisting in-country partners to:

Identify and target reform areas;
Create or enhance the relevant legal, regulatory, and procedural frameworks;
Establish the institutions needed to administer, monitor, and enforce the process;
Improve the regulated community’s capacity to comply with regulatory requirements;
Enhance civil society and media monitoring and oversight;
Further applied research by academics and think-tanks;
Educate the electorate.

IFES blends standard-setting experience, sound research capacity, and a global network of experts, practitioners, and organizations to implement initiatives that apply tested best-practices in the field.

State officials let off the hook for some campaign law violations
Los Angeles Times
Patrick McGreevey
Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times
July 21, 2008

Fair Political Practices Commission issues warning letters instead of publicly announced fines for breaches deemed minor or inadvertent. Watchdogs fear the policy will lead to less transparency. … (Complete Story)

Vegas tycoon bankrolls republicans
The Wall Street Journal
June Kronholz and Tamara Audi
Copyright © 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
July 15, 2008

In the Las Vegas casinos that made Sheldon Adelson one of the country's richest men, a "whale" is someone willing to bet millions. Republicans are hoping Mr. Adelson will be their whale this election. … (Complete Story)

Democrats look to lobbyist to finance convention
The New York Times
Leslie Wayne
© 2008 The New York Times Company
July 14, 2008

In terms of lobbyists, few are more connected — both west of the Mississippi and in the corridors of power in Washington — than Steve Farber, a Denver lawyer whose political contacts have thrust him into a central fund-raising role for the Democratic National Convention. … (Complete Story)

McCain, Obama camps promise to disclose more donor information
The New York Times
Michael Luo
© 2008 The New York Times Company
July 11, 2008

The campaigns of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain moved Friday to provide additional information on their Web sites about their top money collectors, who bundle millions of dollars in campaign contributions, after revelations they had been lax in releasing the names of their bundlers. … (Complete Story)

Fundraising Ruling prompts a scramble
Washington Post
Paul Kane
© Copyright 1996-2008 The Washington Post Company
July 6, 2008

In summer 2003, an Illinois state senator used a new law to collect campaign contributions six times the normal limit for his insurgent U.S. Senate race against a multimillionaire securities trader. But last week the Supreme Court struck down that law, the "Millionaire's Amendment," which helped launch the national political career of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) by leveling the financial playing field a bit. Writing for a 5 to 4 majority, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the law amounted to an "unprecedented penalty" on candidates such as Obama's opponent who want to exercise the First Amendment right to spend their own money in a run for office. … (Complete Story)

Strasbourg - 4th European conference of Electoral management bodies : From September 20-21, 2007 IFES participated in the Venice Commission conference of electoral management bodies on the subject: "Fighting against electoral fraud – Complaints and appeals procedures". The event took place in Strasbourg, at the headquarters of the Council of Europe. Representatives of national authorities responsible for elections and international and regional organisations discussed such issues as definition of offences – striking the balance between administrative and criminal offences, distance voting – ensuring the secrecy of vote, and sanctions and proportionality principle.

Liberia – Workshop for the political parties of Liberia : On August 30 and 31 2007, the National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia together with IFES and IRI organised a workshop for the political parties of Liberia. The purpose of the workshop was to prepare the political parties for the annual financial reports that they are required to submit in September. The event covered everything from general principles of political finance and accounting to fundraising strategies and detailed discussions about the reporting forms to be used. The representatives from the political partie also had the opportunity to give their feedback on the reporting procedures. The trainers included staff from the NEC, IRI and IFES, including the Country Director for IFES Sierra Leone, Magnus Ohman. This will be the second year when the political parties of Liberia will submit annual reports, as part of a political finance transparency programme initiated in 2005 by the NEC and supported by IFES.

Achieving Consensus: Global Standards on Political Finance: Through its program on Political Finance and Public Ethics, IFES is assembling a coalition of researchers, experts, anti-corruption activists, and practitioners in the field of political finance to develop a set of global standards that clarify and define article 7 (3) of the United Nation’s Convention against Corruption.

Public Funding Solutions for Political Parties in Muslim Majority Societies

Recent Publications

Challenging Election Norms and Standards

Recent Editorials by IFES Board Members:

MAP - Money and Politics Program: Guide to Applying Lessons Learned

Political Finance in Post-Conflict Societies

Prosecution of Electoral Fraud Under United States Federal Law

These publications are available free of charge

IFES in the News

El Gobierno como Donante Encubierto. El caso argentino

La Prensa: Construir democracia no es para impacientes

La Prensa: Dinero sin control

Program Activities

Money and Politics (MAP)

Training in Detection and Enforcement (TIDE)

Conflict of Interest Needs (COIN)

IFES Success Stories

Activities		Welcome to moneyandpolitics.net Promoting political integrity through the establishment of transparent and accountable systems of political finance and public ethics is a priority in emerging, consolidating, and established democracies. Recognizing that each environment requires a unique approach, IFES partners with international organizations and works with all key in-country stakeholders – government institutions, political parties, civil society groups, media, and scholars – in a collaborative and holistic manner to support effective and appropriate transparency and accountability measures. IFES has identified a series of gaps related to political finance and public ethics in standards, information, capacity, monitoring and oversight, cross-border transactions, and advocacy. There is a need to address these gaps by conducting standard setting applied research, identifying best-practices, and assisting in-country partners to: Identify and target reform areas; Create or enhance the relevant legal, regulatory, and procedural frameworks; Establish the institutions needed to administer, monitor, and enforce the process; Improve the regulated community’s capacity to comply with regulatory requirements; Enhance civil society and media monitoring and oversight; Further applied research by academics and think-tanks; Educate the electorate. IFES blends standard-setting experience, sound research capacity, and a global network of experts, practitioners, and organizations to implement initiatives that apply tested best-practices in the field. State officials let off the hook for some campaign law violations Los Angeles Times Patrick McGreevey Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times July 21, 2008 Fair Political Practices Commission issues warning letters instead of publicly announced fines for breaches deemed minor or inadvertent. Watchdogs fear the policy will lead to less transparency. … (Complete Story) Vegas tycoon bankrolls republicans The Wall Street Journal June Kronholz and Tamara Audi Copyright © 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved July 15, 2008 In the Las Vegas casinos that made Sheldon Adelson one of the country's richest men, a "whale" is someone willing to bet millions. Republicans are hoping Mr. Adelson will be their whale this election. … (Complete Story) Democrats look to lobbyist to finance convention The New York Times Leslie Wayne © 2008 The New York Times Company July 14, 2008 In terms of lobbyists, few are more connected — both west of the Mississippi and in the corridors of power in Washington — than Steve Farber, a Denver lawyer whose political contacts have thrust him into a central fund-raising role for the Democratic National Convention. … (Complete Story) McCain, Obama camps promise to disclose more donor information The New York Times Michael Luo © 2008 The New York Times Company July 11, 2008 The campaigns of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain moved Friday to provide additional information on their Web sites about their top money collectors, who bundle millions of dollars in campaign contributions, after revelations they had been lax in releasing the names of their bundlers. … (Complete Story) Fundraising Ruling prompts a scramble Washington Post Paul Kane © Copyright 1996-2008 The Washington Post Company July 6, 2008 In summer 2003, an Illinois state senator used a new law to collect campaign contributions six times the normal limit for his insurgent U.S. Senate race against a multimillionaire securities trader. But last week the Supreme Court struck down that law, the "Millionaire's Amendment," which helped launch the national political career of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) by leveling the financial playing field a bit. Writing for a 5 to 4 majority, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the law amounted to an "unprecedented penalty" on candidates such as Obama's opponent who want to exercise the First Amendment right to spend their own money in a run for office. … (Complete Story)
	Strasbourg - 4th European conference of Electoral management bodies : From September 20-21, 2007 IFES participated in the Venice Commission conference of electoral management bodies on the subject: "Fighting against electoral fraud – Complaints and appeals procedures". The event took place in Strasbourg, at the headquarters of the Council of Europe. Representatives of national authorities responsible for elections and international and regional organisations discussed such issues as definition of offences – striking the balance between administrative and criminal offences, distance voting – ensuring the secrecy of vote, and sanctions and proportionality principle. Liberia – Workshop for the political parties of Liberia : On August 30 and 31 2007, the National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia together with IFES and IRI organised a workshop for the political parties of Liberia. The purpose of the workshop was to prepare the political parties for the annual financial reports that they are required to submit in September. The event covered everything from general principles of political finance and accounting to fundraising strategies and detailed discussions about the reporting forms to be used. The representatives from the political partie also had the opportunity to give their feedback on the reporting procedures. The trainers included staff from the NEC, IRI and IFES, including the Country Director for IFES Sierra Leone, Magnus Ohman. This will be the second year when the political parties of Liberia will submit annual reports, as part of a political finance transparency programme initiated in 2005 by the NEC and supported by IFES. Achieving Consensus: Global Standards on Political Finance: Through its program on Political Finance and Public Ethics, IFES is assembling a coalition of researchers, experts, anti-corruption activists, and practitioners in the field of political finance to develop a set of global standards that clarify and define article 7 (3) of the United Nation’s Convention against Corruption. Public Funding Solutions for Political Parties in Muslim Majority Societies

Recent Publications
	Challenging Election Norms and Standards Recent Editorials by IFES Board Members: Battles fought without regard to truth Postal voting is a giant fiddle Loans for lordships: the joker in the middle State funding for parties in a fact-free zone It's their party, and we pay for it MAP - Money and Politics Program: Guide to Applying Lessons Learned English Français Español Political Finance in Post-Conflict Societies Prosecution of Electoral Fraud Under United States Federal Law These publications are available free of charge

IFES in the News
	El Gobierno como Donante Encubierto. El caso argentino La Prensa: Construir democracia no es para impacientes La Prensa: Dinero sin control

Program Activities
	Money and Politics (MAP) Training in Detection and Enforcement (TIDE) Conflict of Interest Needs (COIN) IFES Success Stories