In its newsletter of April to June 2016, International IDEA secretary general Yves Leterme laments the negative influence of money in political processes for the past 15 years. Essentially he regards the phenomenon as a major threat to democracy.
In a scathing editorial, Leterme posits that the question of money’s influence over politics is as pressing as ever because it threatens the very foundations of democracy. In many countries, the massive level of financial resources spent in election campaigns makes it impossible for those without large private funds to compete.
The spiraling costs of political participation affect women candidates. In a few cases, illicit finance also seeps into the political process through organised crime. When the political process is “hijacked” by the wealthy few, their interests take priority and accountability relationships are distorted and in the process undermine fundamental principles of democracy.
According to Leterme, the processes can occur in both mature and emerging democracies. To address the issue, International IDEA as part of its institution-wide initiative on Money in Politics conducts research and develops knowledge resources, organises international, regional and national debates to identify challenges and stimulate legal reform, and assists countries in institutional capacity building on how to tackle the negative influence of money in political processes.
An International IDEA Political Finance Handbook provides a global overview of political finance regulations around the world and provides guidance for reform.
Throughout 2015 and 2016, International IDEA has organised a series of global and regional conferences on money in politics. The purpose of the conferences were to provide a forum for practitioners, academics and policy-makers to highlight areas of political finance regulations that are in need of reform; exchange information on the effective enforcement and monitoring of political finance legal frameworks; and identify approaches, mechanisms and procedures for improving the implementation of existing regulations.
The conferences have enabled the creation of a Community of Practice on Money in Politics and the strengthening of global and regional networks focused on the issue.
International IDEA has also produced a film ÔÇô Power in our Pockets: Social Media, Money and Politics in the Digital Age ÔÇô that highlights the role that digital technology and social media play in political processes, including enhancing accountability and transparency on political finance.
The institution recommends using technology and open data to strengthen oversight and increase transparency in Money in Politics. Technology can help to systematically gather national political finance data and make it easily accessible to the public. This can in turn help to foster greater public trust in politicians.
Public funding for political parties can be a good counterbalance to private donations and can also increase political pluralism.
Money is the greatest threat to democracy, as the more influence it has on politics, the less influence the average citizen has. International IDEA firmly believes in the importance of putting an end to the arms race in electoral spending.
In a foreword in a handbook on political finance titled Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns published by International IDEA in September 2014, former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan explained that over the course of his career, he had witnessed the negative impact of money on politics and governance.
“There is increasing evidence that corruption and unregulated donations are exercising undue influence on politics and undermining the integrity of elections. In some countries, money from organised crime has infiltrated politics to gain control over elected officials and public institutions. These threats to democratic politics help explain why large numbers of people around the world are losing faith in politicians and democratic processes. For example, recent research shows that more than two thirds of Americans trust government less because of the influence of big donors.
“The need to regulate uncontrolled, undisclosed and opaque finance was identified by the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security as a major challenge to the integrity of elections in emerging and mature democracies alike. The Global Commission argued that poorly regulated political finance can diminish public confidence in elections. Indeed a failure to regulate political finance threatens to hollow out democracy and rob it of its unique strengths,” observed Annan.
The former UN secretary general added that citizens all over the world want political parties and government to represent their views and be responsive to their needs. However, all too often parties are disproportionately representative of the interests of the donors who have largely financed them.
Annan lamented further that if large corporations and rich individuals are able to buy greater influence through large campaign donations, citizens can lose faith in, or be marginalised from the political process. This is compounded by a lack of citizen participation in political parties, which further adds to people alienation from politics.
Although the funding of electoral campaigns and political parties has an important role in the functioning of democracy, unregulated money in politics means that the political playing field is not level. The explosive growth in campaign expenditure fuels the perception that wealth buys political influence and threatens political equality.
The abuse of state resources by the ruling parties also remains a problem in many countries the world over. This lack of a level playing field prohibits the equal participation and representation of all citizens in democratic process, observed Annan.
He added that recent years have seen a growing penetration of transnational organised crime and illicit funds into politics. In Latin America, West Africa and many parts of the world, opaque electoral finance and lack of transparency and oversight are providing opportunities for organised crime to gain influence over elected officials by financing their campaigns.
This does not only undermine democracy, good governance and the rule of law, but also has negative consequences for economic development and alleviation of poverty.
Annan called for the urgent need to better control political finance with governments regulating political donations and expenditures effectively. In his view, that would require full transparency and disclosure of donations with penalties for non compliance.
Leterme explained that abuse of state resources is particularly problematic in former Soviet countries and Africa. It is common for money in politics to operate behind closed doors and involve shadowy practices. The exact amounts and origins of donations to political parties or candidates are often unknown.
This creates a system that is open to abuse by big businesses or organised crime, which contributes money in return for influence. Donations seen as investment by corporate interests have been reported from virtually all regions, not least the older democracies of North America and Europe. The penetration of illicit funds into politics poses a particular danger to democracy and institutions on all continents.
This is especially so along the Latin American drug trafficking corridor stretching from Andean region to Mexico, where drugs money has infiltrated political life and elections, lamented Leterme.
In all the regions of the world there is a deeply worrying trend of money (in politics drowning out the voices of ordinary citizens).
“For a democracy to be healthy, it must revolve, first and foremost, around the citizen. And for a democracy to be sustainable, it requires transparent, accountable and inclusive political parties that can channel the demands of the people and truly represent them. Attempts to tackle these challenges through political finance laws and regulations are often undermined by lack of political will or capacity as well as poorly designed and enforced measures,” emphasised IDEA secretary general.
