Appeal to all political parties to publish campaign financing reports

Transparency International BiH (TI BiH) appeals to all political parties that would participate in the local elections to make reports on the financing of their election campaigns available to the public, so that citizens can make an informed decision on who to vote for on October 5th. TI BiH has already sent a request to all the parties where they were asked to deliver reports on financing, but the great majority of parties did not reply, and those who did, delivered incomplete and partial information.

TI BiH emphasizes that citizens, when deciding on whom to give their vote to, have the right to know what the sources of financing political campaigns are and how those resources are distributed, considering that the parties are financed from the budget. As a reminder, TI BiH research on financing of political parties revealed that more than 25 million KM from the budgets of different levels of administration in BiH is being set aside for financing of political parties.

In all democratic countries it is a common practice to publish this kind of information before the elections, so that citizens can gain the full picture before they vote. On the other hand, hiding information on financing of political parties leaves a huge space for corruption, that is, judging by the TI BIiH research before the local elections, most present in political parties themselves. To remind, “Corruption Perception Survey – Elections 2008” showed that more than 70% of BiH citizens think that political parties are the most corrupt of all the institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Corruption in political party and campaign finance damages democracy because it undermines elections and distorts political competition. But the damage is not confined to the electoral process. The quality of government is marred when subsequent decisions by elected politicians are taken to pay back those who funded their ascent to power, rather than for the benefit of the population as a whole. Equally, when a political party resorts to paying for votes rather than focusing on the quality of its campaign message, democracy suffers. Corruption in political finance erodes trust in the institutions of democracy, when scandal after scandal reveals politicians sharing the spoils of power with their financial backers. Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize again the importance of political parties’ transparency in election campaigns, in order to lessen the possibility for corruption in financing and the work of political parties.