Conference on the Integrity of Political Parties Held, a Call for the Democratization of Political Parties

“Bearing in mind the importance of the parties themselves and their influence, as well as the fact that BiH is a country whose institutions are captured by the interests of political leaders, key changes towards the democratization of political parties are necessary.“, is the message of the conference “Lack of integrity and ethics in political parties” which was organized today in Sarajevo by Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) and the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conference was attended by representatives of relevant international and civil society organizations, political parties, legislative authorities and the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the common conclusion is that the intra-party structures and procedures by which they are guided have created a unique political system that has led to

a crisis in the legitimacy of state institutions and the lack of public trust in the democratic process.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, in addition to being rated as the country with the highest level of corruption in the Western Balkans and the third most corrupt in Europe, is increasingly described as a captive state and a hybrid regime, which is why it is necessary to limit the power and influence of political leaders. One of the ways to achieve this is the democratization of political parties.

“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, clientelism is a way for parties to mobilize voters and capture institutions, while the same parties are recognized in the eyes of citizens as the most corrupt social institutions,” said Srđan Blagovčanin, president of the TI BiH Board of Directors, during the presentation of the research results at the topic “Internal functioning and integrity of political parties: laws and practice”, which he concluded with the call that: “It is necessary to establish minimum standards of intra-party democracy with the aim of strengthening transparency, responsibility and integrity.”

In this direction, TI BiH has proposed a package of measures to improve this area, especially the Law on the Financing of Political Parties, which, among other things, includes the establishment and use of unique bank accounts for all parties, increasing the competence of the Central Election Commission in the process of auditing expenses, the obligation to publish financial plans, reports and all transactions, expansion of prohibited sources of financing, contributions and donations, more detailed definition of related persons and stricter and more detailed definition of offenses and sanctions.

A similar approach is advocated by the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reminding that the recommendations of ODIHR and GRECO, which refer to a clearer definition of rules in the field of campaign financing, have not yet been implemented.

“Introduction of effective, proportional and discouraging punishment for violations of campaign financing rules is necessary,” said Ahmed Rifatbegović, advisor for political issues of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that “in order to ensure an adequate system of control, it is necessary to strengthen capacities of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the Audit Service.”

Existing legal frameworks for functioning and financing of political parties, were discussed at the conference, as well as proposals for further steps and recommendations for improving the situation in this area.

“There is no single register of political organizations and their exact number is almost impossible to determine, and the laws on party financing are imprecise, outdated, unharmonized and vaguely prescribe the method of control,” said Nenad Simović, director NDI BiH adding that they have been working for some time to involve as many parties as possible in the process of defining a new, harmonized legal framework, expressing the hope that the parties in both entities in BiH will show interest in this process.

The conference, which represents the beginning of a dialogue on integrity and ethical standards in political parties, sent a clear message that further work on the integral and comprehensive regulation of the activities of political parties is necessary, first through laws that would additionally regulate the minimum standards of intra-party democracy, the way of their financing and introduced mechanisms of more effective control and more rigorous sanctioning.

At the conference organized by Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) and the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ahmed Rifatbegović spoke on behalf of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Radivoje Grujić on behalf of ODIHR, as well as Nenad Simović, director of NDI for BiH, representatives of the Central Election Commission of BiH and Srđan Blagovčanin, president of the TIBiH Board of Directors.

Press rls_01.06.23_