Money and Politics Friends or Foes?

Ways forward

How can young democracies, such as those in Africa, manage with the funding issues explained above? There are no simple answers, and a multi-dimensional approach is required. First and foremost, the gaps in legislations on the financing of political activities must be bridged.

Legislation that improves the opportunity for all parties to fairly take part in elections should be put in place. This can be done by attributing an annual budget to political parties. With some countries having hundreds of registered political parties, the State cannot possibly provide funds to all – which would in fact likely encourage the creation of more parties. To prevent this situation, funds provided to political parties could be given in proportion to the results obtained in the previous election.

Second, public disclosure of funds raised, the source of funding and the amount spent should also be mandatory. This would ensure transparency at all levels, during the electoral cycles and beyond, and could prevent the misappropriation of state institution’s funds and the use of funds emanating from illegal activities.

Third, there is a need to make institutions in charge of monitoring political parties more effective. This can be done by ensuring they are held accountable in carrying out their mandates and that they have the necessary resources, including human capacity and legal backing, required to do so. Their ability to monitor political parties’ activities, investigate and verify transactions is often times limited by a lack of financial resources, minimal capacity and/or an inadequate legal frameworks. These must all therefore be re-enforced.

And finally, building awareness among citizens and encouraging collective responsibility among political parties are two other key measures that can help curb the practice of illicit political financing.

People must be sensitised about the link between the quality of their governance and the source and use of campaign money that put leaders there in the first place. It is only when citizens have the ability to monitor, and have the right to hold their leaders to account, that leaders will be less inclined to mishandle state affairs.

Holding political parties responsible for how their representatives in government behave is another highly effective way of ensuring accountability and transparency. For example, if and when a party member mismanages state resources it should be up to the party who placed them there to share in this responsibility. When there is both collective and individual engagement and responsibility, there is less likelihood of illicit practices.

Conclusion

To counter the nefarious effects that may arise from questionable financial sources and inappropriate use of funds during electoral periods, transparency measures must be put in place. The list of recommendations mentioned above is neither exhaustive nor does it offer immediate solutions. There are certainly other measures to consider.

Asset declaration from individuals running for office (before and after their mandates), the strengthening of anti-corruption courts and an improvement in the monitoring of public procurement processes are all examples of other ways to limit the embezzlement of public funds when running campaigns. They may also limit the attribution of key economic sectors to those select individuals contributing large amounts of money to candidates running for office.

Until young democracies in Africa get a firm handle on how to control and monitor the source and use of money during elections, these nations will forever struggle to consolidate their democracies. And until these democracies are strengthened and established, political systems in these places will never fully meet the needs of all its citizens. Money is certainly required to run elections but it must also arrive in full disclosure and with no strings attached.

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Mathias Hounkpe is the Political Governance Manager of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).  Olivier Bucyana is OSIWA’s Political Governance Program Associate and an LSE alumnus.

This post originally appeared on AllAfrica.