IFES Success Stories
IFES Program on Political Finance and Public Ethics
Africa
Nigeria: Combating political corruption by enabling transparency reforms
The case in Nigeria demonstrates how political will can be engendered to implement existing legal provisions designed to increase transparency. This case also shows how USAID’s technical leadership has encouraged other donors to support similar anti-corruption initiatives. In 2003, IFES launched a comprehensive Money and Politics (MAP) project to encourage greater transparency in the political finance system in Nigeria. IFES promotes dialogue among the key stakeholders on the implementation of existing legislation and provides expert advice on global best practices. As the agency legally responsible for monitoring political finance, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a key partner in this effort. The first phase of the program was funded by USAID with the current phase co-funded by USAID and the Department for International Development (DfID) of the United Kingdom.
As a result of the MAP project, IFES, together with IRI, promoted meaningful dialogue between INEC and political parties that allowed reforms to move forward. IFES then worked with INEC to draft regulations and reporting forms for disclosure of assets and expenditures. These forms were the first of their kind in West Africa and were utilized by political parties in reporting on their 2003 campaigns. Since that time, INEC drafted a Political Party Finance Handbook and Political Party Finance Manual with IFES support. The Handbook and Manual are designed to assist political parties in understanding the laws pertaining to political finance disclosure and enforcement, and to serve as a tool for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the media in determining how they can best engage in monitoring the flow of money in politics. INEC has also committed to taking the next significant step of placing the audited financial reports of political parties onto the internet for public scrutiny. These efforts show that, even in the most corrupt societies, political finance reforms, especially in the area of transparency, can work.
Liberia: Combating political corruption through assets disclosure
The case of Liberia demonstrates how effective asset disclosure can lead to greater public accountability. In late-2004, IFES launched its Money and Politics (MAP) project designed to encourage credibility in Liberia’s fragile political process through the promotion of greater transparency and accountability in political finance. Following a similar approach to that employed in Nigeria and elsewhere, the MAP Project began with a comprehensive assessment of the political finance system in Liberia followed by the provision of regulatory support, including the drafting of necessary forms. All of these efforts have been undertaken with the support of IFES’ key partner, the National Elections Commission (NEC), and in coordination with major political parties and CSOs. As a result of these efforts, political parties and candidates contesting the October 11 elections publicly declared their assets for the first time. These declarations were made available for public scrutiny via the NEC website and written about widely in the press. The electorate thus had an opportunity to make more informed decisions at the polls and to hold the winning candidate accountable in the future.
South Africa: Combating political corruption through access to information
The case in South Africa demonstrates how civil society organizations (CSO) can leverage access to information laws to obtain, make public, and scrutinize information about political finance accounts. It also shows how USAID’s technical leadership can initiate such a process. In 2002, IFES launched a project designed to promote greater transparency and promote credibility in the political process in South Africa. The project addressed the numerous questions that have arisen about government contracts, party contributions, and access to official information. IFES’ key partners include two prominent CSOs – Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Through these organizations, IFES is conducted targeted comparative research on regulation of private funding to political parties, including the access to public information as required by law.
The project in South Africa achieved a series of results that strengthened the credibility of political processes. First, these efforts raised awareness. IDASA identified the need for regulation in specific areas. Then, together with ISS, IDASA developed a paper on these findings, a Democracy Radio program, and newspaper pieces explaining the various aspects on Political Finance. Second, IDASA lobbied Parliament and others to advocate for legislation to be enacted that regulates private funding to political parties. Finally, IDASA employed “The Promotion of Access to Information Act” to ascertain who has been giving money to which political parties and establish whether the political processes and decision-making have been unduly influenced by any company, government, individual or other entity as a result. By 2005, these efforts resulted in ISS’ and IDASA’s independently developed website – www.whofundswho.org.za. Thus, with the support of IFES, IDASA and ISS were able to help shape reform and access information that is now widely available for public scrutiny.
Americas
Bolivia: Combating political corruption through transparency
The case of Bolivia demonstrates that the capacity of electoral organizations to regulate political finance can be developed despite significant political and social unrest within a country. In 2003, IFES launched a comprehensive Money and Politics (MAP) project to encourage greater transparency in the political finance system in Bolivia. To this end, IFES signed an MOU with the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) to provide both the software and the technical assistance to implement the MAP program. The project continued over the next two years, and, despite political and judicial unrest with the resignation of a key magistrate and the democratically elected President of Bolivia, the MAP database was successfully installed and running effectively to monitor political finance via the CNE’s intranet. In addition, the CNE provided full cooperation with IFES at all points during the implementation process and plans to make the data widely available on the internet.
In Bolivia, IFES’ focus was not only on installing the appropriate software but also in developing the technical capacity of the CNE’s personnel to utilize this vital tool. IFES’ efforts in this regard were so successful that two CNE staff traveled to Peru in 2005 to assist the Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE) in adapting and implementing their software. In this sense, IFES was able to build not only national capacity but also regional capacity to monitor political finance.
Peru: Combating political corruption through legal and regulatory reforms
The case of Peru demonstrates that support by the international community can lead to more stringent reform proposals by government bodies. With IFES’ assistance, the Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE) of Peru not only implemented the IFES Money and Politics (MAP) software database that allows for greater transparency in political finance, but also drafted a vital political finance reform proposal that was brought before the Peruvian congress. The reform proposal resulted in the implementation of mechanisms to enforce the legal controls introduced by the 2003 Law of Political Parties. IFES also participated in a public forum on political finance issues in Peru and Latin America. Thus, through direct engagement with stakeholders, IFES raised the level of dialogue on political finance issues resulting in key regulatory reforms.
Europe and Eurasia
Lithuania: Combating political corruption through transparency
The case in Lithuania demonstrates how full and public disclosure can lead to increased accountability and enhanced credibility of the democratic process and the rule of law. Each of the candidates for the December 2002 presidential elections in Lithuania was required to submit detailed reports on their income and expenditures. Through its Money and Politics (MAP) program, IFES helped the Central Electoral Committee to develop a database to collect, store, and make available to the public the financial account information in these reports. The database was fully integrated with that of the tax authorities, which is responsible for auditing political account reports.
By disclosing this information to the public the Central Electoral Committee gained the public’s trust as an institution. But more importantly it gave civil society and the media an important tool for scrutinizing these political accounts. Civil society groups and journalists accessed this transparency mechanism over the internet and took note that nearly one third of the elected President’s reported campaign contributions came from a single source. After further scrutiny it was found that Aviabaltika, the donor, had close ties with Russian organized crime syndicates. This led to a deeper civil society and media investigation that turned up abuse of the Presidential office. Ultimately, this abuse of the office led to parliamentary impeachment proceedings as outlined by the Constitution.
How a country responds to the repercussions of a scandal is just as important as how it handles the scandal itself. In Lithuania, new elections were held to ensure that the rule of law prevailed and efforts by the Central Electoral Committee were made to further enhance its system of disclosure. Thus, a political finance scandal offers a country a chance to address and remedy weaknesses in the system. However, it can further institutionalize these weaknesses if appropriate steps are not taken.
Georgia: Combating political corruption through transparency
The case of Georgia highlights that continuity in programming over the course of a regime change can lead to effective results. IFES launched its Money and Politics (MAP) project in 2003 with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Central Election Commission (CEC), the development of regulations, reporting forms, and a database to collect, store, and provide free and immediate access to information on political finance. The “Rose Revolution” delayed the input of data and resulted in a new government and CEC. IFES worked closely with the new CEC in 2004 to ensure that they honored the MOU signed by the previous body. This effort resulted in an internet accessible database that served as a source of information for media and analysts following the trends in financing political parties and election campaigns. By making this information available, the MAP database promoted a more transparent conduct of election campaign and contributed to improving the climate of political financial transactions. IFES also worked extensively with the CEC to take ownership of the MAP database and continue to maintain it over time. Further, work with the CEC was undertaken to raise awareness through public information activities aimed at political parties, civil society, and media.
The MAP database provides all political actors, civil society, media, and academics with a useful tool with which to encourage and increase transparency and accountability in the political process. The implementation of the MAP project contributed to raising public awareness of the importance of transparency, thereby promoting an environment for further campaign finance reform in the Georgia. Through this integrated approach of software development, written material design, and training the CEC has enhanced its credibility as a political finance regulator and Georgia has emerged as a positive model for others to follow in the former Soviet Union.
Kosovo: Combating political corruption through a coalition of international partners
The case of Kosovo demonstrates how international democracy development assistance providers can work together to maximize results. Since 2003, IFES has worked together to promote transparency and accountability in Kosovo by implementing the relevant United Nations (UN) Regulations 2004/11 and 2004/12. Through the USAID-funded Transitional Election Resources Project, IFES supported the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) project on political finance disclosure and reporting prior to the 2004 parliamentary elections. IFES and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) held a joint multi-party training seminar to promote transparent and accountable party financing in Kosovo by improving parties’ financial reporting. As a result of this collaborative effort, all of the political parties complied with new reporting regulations with 91% submitting forms on time. IFES is now preparing to launch its Training in Detection and Enforcement (TIDE) Program, while working with USAID and the OSCE to secure a smooth transfer of responsibilities to the local political finance regulator. By taking initiative and leadership among a coalition of actors, IFES has already achieved demonstrative results.
Romania: Combating political corruption through access to information by CSOs
The case of Romania illustrates the important role civil society organizations (CSO) can play in facilitating transparency through accessing political finance information. In 2003, IFES began working with a local Asociatia Pro Democratia (APD), in the absence of an effective political finance regulator, to develop a Money and Politics (MAP) database. APD combined its own political finance monitoring with the disclosure of income receipts in the Monitorul Oficial to collect account information for the database.
The user-friendly, web-based source of political finance information provides free and immediate access to information on political finance. The database serves as a source of information for media and analysts following the trends in financing political parties and election campaigns. By making this information available, the MAP database promotes a more transparent conduct of election campaign and contributes to improving the climate of political financial transactions. IFES also trained political finance trainers to conduct public information activities that sought to build specific expertise among several core constituencies: election management bodies, political parties, non-governmental organizations, journalists, associations, and academics. Such expertise creates demand and also guarantees that the database is maintained in a timely fashion in such a way as to provide a check on its accuracy and reliability. Thus, even in the absence of an effective political finance regulator, CSOs can play a crucial role in promoting transparency, public scrutiny of political finance accounts, and, ultimately, greater accountability.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Combating political corruption through enhanced accountability
The case in Bosnia and Herzegovina illustrates the need for audits to detect violations in political finance reports and hold the regulated community accountable. Through its Money and Politics (MAP) program, IFES provided the Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ECBiH) with a good disclosure system. However, the lack of audit capacity and inability to investigate non-compliance created frustration among the international members of the Commission, civil society organizations, and the media. This deficiency paralyzed the agency and contributed to growing criticism and questionable credibility. For three years, the Audit Department of the ECBiH failed to produce a single audit report, despite increasing pressure from the international community.
Within three months of launching its Training in Detection and Enforcement (TIDE) program in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Audit Department of the ECBiH produced its first two reports. Furthermore, it has completed a desk study and is currently in the process of implementing its first field audit of four parties, including two major political groups. The audits of the four parties are expected to be completed by January 2006. Detecting violations is the first critical step in ensuring accountability. IFES is seeking to follow up on issues concerning investigation of non-compliance, referral to other enforcement agencies, and sanctioning. Overall, the TIDE program helped the ECBiH transform how it viewed itself from a body with a narrow mandate to one that can and should actively detect possible political finance violations, thereby reducing the possibilities for political corruption.
IFES Tools for Combating Political Corruption
IFES has been conducting political finance related activities as a component of its democracy promotion efforts for more than a decade and has now developed strategic monitoring and reporting tools and frameworks to promote and implement high priority reforms. More recently, IFES launched its Political Finance and Ethics program in 16 countries and contributed the well-received USAID Money in Politics Handbook.
With generous support from USAID, IFES has developed two comprehensive, complementary, and country-specific programs to encourage transparency, enforcement, and the accountability of elected officials, candidates, and political parties.
IFES believes that through the application of these tools, countries around the world can establish more credible political processes and institutions that regulate these processes, thereby reducing the corrupting role that money can play in the political process.
Both MAP and TIDE utilize a wide array of tools backed by groundbreaking research. In the last year alone, IFES’ political finance team has developed the following: (1) a series of White Papers and a collection of news articles, and other materials that can be found on www.moneyandpolitics.net; (2) Guide to Lessons Learned from IFES ’ Money and Politics (MAP) Projects (to be published by USAID) that complements USAID’s Money in Politics Handbook; (3) interactive TIDE Training Handbook, which together with a comprehensive set of sample materials, that can be accessed in hard copy, on CD-Rom, or on the Internet; (4) information on transparency and enforcement of political finance as it relates to electoral integrity that will be made available in 2006 on the revised ACE website; and (5) Political Finance in Post-Conflict Societies (to be published by USAID). IFES also works closely with other international organizations, contributing to Transparency International’s 2004 Global Report and Open Society Institute’s Campaign Finance Handbook, among others.
For more information on IFES’ Program on Political Finance and Public Ethics go to www.moneyandpolitics.net