1. Financing of Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns in Republic of Macedonia
- Author
-
Farije ALIU
- Subjects
political party ,financing ,electoral campaign ,Political science ,Political science (General) ,JA1-92 - Abstract
Political party in the Republic of Macedonia began to operate after independence and the adoption of the Constitution in November 1991 and has since become an integral part of the political scene and the data from the Central Registry of the Republic of Macedonia registered political parties more than 50 political parties active in the current system. The electoral system in the country is set according to the proportional model where direct and free elections by secret ballot to elect members of Parliament and members of the municipal councils and the City of Skopje for four years, while according to the majority model is the selection of the President of the Republic for a term of five years and the election of mayors of municipalities and the City of Skopje for four years. The legal framework for the financing of political parties in the country is well developed. The main law governing the financing of political parties and their supervision law on financing of political parties and the amendments to the same law. The provisions contained in the law is comprehensive, addressing the financing of the regular activities of political parties and their supervision and demonstrate ensuring transparency and accountability in political financing and a ban on anonymous donations and donations from abroad and determine the rules for cap on private donations and prohibiting quid pro quo agreements. Some provisions relating to the financing of political parties included in the Law on Political Parties and certain provisions governing the various supervisory authorities, in particular the Law on Prevention of Corruption and the Law on State Audit footnote. The basic law that regulates elections is the Electoral Code. Under the provisions of the Electoral Code the political parties and election campaign organizers are required to submit financial reports to the authorities to ensure respect for the principles of transparency and accountability and are made public. The law does not provide for submission of financial reports by donors of political parties. This is considered a disadvantage of this law and expressed doubt that allowing circulation of funds from illegal sources in the financing of election campaigns. Electoral Code prohibits election campaign financing by funds from the state budget. However, the organizers of the campaign receive compensation from the state budget if they won at least 1.5% of the total vote. Also political parties, their electoral campaigns financed from private sources in the form of membership fees, donations from individuals and legal entities. Despite the legal aspects on transparency, general public perception is that in a country where the economy in cash still plays an important role, transparency is generally low in practice and that political parties and candidates for elections receive and spend much more money than what is officially shown in the financial statements. Higher spending funds still dominate especially in the area of paid political advertisements. Transparency in political financing provides elected officials and leaders of political parties to be responsible for their finances and facilitate the monitoring of their integrity. Based on current practice can be said that despite the controls performed financial activities of political parties by the state institutions, punitive measures are not implemented despite the apparent state of inconsistency regarding the practice of financial reporting and transparency. In this scientific article is exhausted comparative and empirical methodology, which include an assessment of source funding for political parties and financing of election campaign for local elections in 2013, parliamentary and presidential elections in 2014. The methodology involves checking the legal framework as it is applied in practice in terms of transparency of political financing, compared with internationally recognized principles. By getting thorough information provided empirical evidence to create a clear picture in areas that require reform. Based on empirical data and results of research conducted within this work it can be concluded that the functioning of the state and public oversight over the financing of election campaigns of political parties in Macedonia is more pronounced within the law than in practice. There is a large discrepancy between the legal and factual situation.
- Published
- 2016