Who's financing Malta's politics? Daphne Foundation proposes transparency reform
'Hidden money and behind-the-scenes influence warp political decision-making'
The Daphne Foundation has proposed reforms to boost transparency in political financing.
"Hidden money and behind-the-scenes influence warp political decision-making in Malta, handing disproportionate power to a select few while voters remain in the dark about who is shaping the policies and political priorities that affect their lives," it said.
It pointed out that while only Parliament can pass legal changes once it reconvenes, the Electoral Commission can update some of its practices to immediately improve transparency in the upcoming election.
Currently, candidates’ campaign expenses are accessible to the public only for a two-week period, once they have been submitted to the Electoral Commission after an election result is published. To help safeguard the public’s right to transparency, the Electoral Commission can extend the period for public inspection to two months or longer, as this does not require a change in the law, the foundation observed.
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Similarly, it said, the Electoral Commission should ensure that all parties, not just the larger ones, have sufficient and equal access to real-time vote counts.
To ensure political parties’ funding sources and campaign spending are transparent in the longer term, the foundation said the Electoral Commission should be provided with powers and resources to supervise, investigate and enforce political finance regulations, including through the imposition of effective punitive fines on political parties for default in the timely submission of financial statements.
Furthermore, the obligation which political parties have to submit annual audited financial accounts to the Electoral Commission should be extended to the companies that they own.
The foundation said election expenses should be published online in a timely manner following an election, and remain available for public inspection for a period of at least two months.
All donations exceeding €100 from a single source should be recorded and reported in a digitalised database which remains freely accessible to the public at all times.
The Electoral Commission should also be given a wide mandate and equipped to carry out proactive and efficient election monitoring, investigate misconduct and enforce effective sanctions where necessary, the foundation said.