Money plays an important role in
electoral processes in all countries. Without money, it is difficult for
political parties in most countries to reach out to and inform citizens about
their manifestos or to motivate people to register and get out to vote.
Money only becomes problematic when
costs for nomination fees and campaigning are high or escalating (which limits
participation to wealthier individuals and organizations), when access to
campaign financing by marginalized groups (including women, youth, persons with
disabilities) is disproportionally difficult due to cultural and social
barriers, when there are no legal frameworks or mechanisms in place to control
donations and expenditures of political parties and candidates, and when
corruption is infiltrating political parties. In these cases, money creates an
uneven playing field and electoral process.
Earmarking state subsidies for youth
Recognizing that political activities
often require (considerable) financing, many countries have introduced state
subsidies to level the playing field and encourage political pluralism.
Earmarking state subsidies for specific activities and/or target groups is not
new and has been used in several countries to promote the representation of
underrepresented groups in political institutions. A small number of countries,
including Ireland and Kenya, have drafted legislation requiring parties to use
part of their funding to increase youth political representation. To ensure political parties respect
regulations on the use of state subsidies, it is important to have mechanisms
in place to (a) verify expenditures and activities implemented by political
parties and (b) financially sanction
those parties that do not
comply with the regulations.
In Kenya, according to Article 26.1
of the Political Parties Act 2011, at least 30 per cent of direct public
funding provided should be used for “promoting the representation in Parliament and in the county assemblies of women, persons
with disabilities, youth, ethnic
and other minorities and marginalized communities.”[i]
In Ireland, in accordance with
Section 18 of the Electoral Act, 1997 (as amended), “The funding received is
also deemed to include provision in respect of expenditure by qualified parties
in relation to the promotion of participation by women and young persons in
political activity. Public funding cannot be applied to, or be used to recoup,
election or referendum expenses.”[ii]
Donations and expenditures
The
political sphere in most countries continues to be dominated by wealthy and powerful individuals and groups. High and often escalating costs often limit opportunities for young people with relatively less influence or financial means, regardless of how eager
they are to run for office. Proper
regulations for donations and campaign expenditures should be put in
place to ensure that young people from all segments in society (women,
indigenous peoples, minorities, etc.) have access to funding for electoral
campaigns. Otherwise, power and access remain concentrated among those from
wealthy backgrounds and/or established political families.
Weak legislation in terms of donations and spending of political parties is
only one of several potential obstacles. In some countries, state and
government resources are systematically used during campaign periods for the advantage
of incumbents. It goes without
saying that this weakens
the position of opposition candidates and young people who are not associated
with incumbent governments or candidates.
Enforcing legislation: verify and sanction
Despite strong political finance
regulations, many countries lack mechanisms to enforce legislation by
collecting, scrutinizing, and disclosing financial reports and to address
violations. In the absence of mechanisms to investigate political
parties’ donations and expenditures and hold political
parties accountable, it is unlikely that political parties will be
penalized for not complying with the rules. Yet
despite this rather obvious correlation, about 25 per cent of the
countries for which data was available during research for a 2012 report lacked
regulations obliging any agency to examine financial reports or to investigate potential
political finance violations.[iii]
[i] National Council for Law Reporting, “Laws of Kenya: The
Political Parties Act, 2011,” http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Acts/PoliticalPartiesAct.pdf.
[iii] International IDEA, “Political Finance Regulations Around the
World: An Overview of the International IDEA Database,” 2012, www.idea.int/publications/political-
finance-regulations/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=52121.
