• Politics

Politics & corruption

In post-conflict situations political finance system must ensure limitations on, support for and accountability of funding for political parties, candidates and other electoral participants. This study of political finance in post-conflict society identifies lessons learned from international donor-funded efforts to support political processes in post-conflict environments in general and the funding of political parties and campaign finance in particular. The document consists of eight case studies that seek to improve understanding of the political dynamics of post-conflict situations as well as how to rally international support for holding elections and supporting democratisation under such circumstances.

The paper identifies a number of challenges for political financing in post-conflict situations:

• establishing effective legal and procedural frameworks
• limiting political violence
• preventing funding from undesirable sources and abuse of state resources
• enacting enforcement mechanisms
• addressing transparency through financial reporting and public disclosure
• balancing the competitive field by providing subsidies through trust funds and free broadcasting

Drawing on the cases studies, the paper highlights numerous lessons learned. Overall lessons learned include:

• the political finance system itself must avoid directly or indirectly legitimising, subsidising or being subsidised by militia or criminal groups that may hide behind a political façade
• political finance must be addressed through a legal and regulatory framework early on in the process
• efforts should be made to provide information and education to all the agents of disclosure about the role of a political finance system and how such as system is essential for creating credible electoral and democratic processes
• the legal framework must encourage voluntary compliance and provide specific and appropriately severe penalties for violations of political finance laws
• international democracy assistance should recognise that widely accepted standards for transparency in political finance policy may not fit the extreme circumstances of post-conflict societies
• the political finance system can be designed to include features that promote competition and lessen the appeal of undesirable sources of funding
• political finance systems that impose strict or elaborate controls on private financing of political activity will likely prove ineffective in post-conflict situations
• elections in post-conflict societies almost always follow long periods of authoritarian or one-party rule, so that the incumbent or recently dominant electoral participant has had and may continue to have control over the structure and resources of the state, including state-run media
• there is a need to prevent the monopolisation of all or most public resources, including access to the media, by diversifying control over state resources and media outlets and by encouraging private media to represent a diversity of opinion
• support should also be offered to civil society organisations and to media
  

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