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Opinion / Editorial

Turbulent party finances

Turbulent party finances

Unofficial estimates speak of funds at the level of 160-180 million euros, which have circulated in the hands of our main parties, in the election campaigns since 2002, to the extent of more than 80 percent uncontrolled by the relevant state institutions. The law on political parties is from the year 2000 (https://www.parlament.al/Files/ProjektLigje/20200928110219Ligji%20p%C3%ABr%20partit%C3%AB%20politike.pdf , although amended several times, up to two years ago. It constitutes a complete failure to financially control these public groups and a real Waterloo in the fight for not threatening the public and citizen interest, from the hidden (occult) financial activity of the parties, despite some interventions-patches of 2011, 2014 and the last one in 2020(https://kqz.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ligji-per-partite-politike-2020.pdf ). The law still urgently needs to be amended again, with additional mandatory legal provisions for the activities of political parties, related to the self-publication of financial statements, with mandatory information about their members, to determine the level of quotas that pour. The legal addendum must clearly define the time obligation when the parties must submit periodic balances, income and expenses, just as today the fiscal law obliges every economic entity to present the balance sheet by March 31 of the following year. The law should be very clear and detailed regarding donors, campaign donors and those who offer during non-election years. This legal initiative should also include the General Prosecutor's Office, The High Inspectorate for Declaration of Assets and Prevention of Conflict of Interest, the General Directorate of Money Laundering, the General Directorate of Taxes as well as other law-enforcement bodies in the field, for effective and comprehensive investigation in relation to cases of financing suspicious political parties, revealing the source of income. Few of us, for example, know that the Law of 2000 does not allow donations from foreign legal entities or individuals to Albanian parties. The question arises: who will undertake this legal initiative? Deputies of today's parliamentary political parties? Of the main opposition party, which the US State Department itself claims to have received money from shady Russian lobbying? It's not even a question. It would take a spontaneous movement of Albanian non-governmental associations to gather 20,000 citizen firms, but they are too busy hunting for donor funds. Meanwhile, it is dangerous to leave the parties completely free in their financial transactions. At the very least, there is a return of "honors" to the donor business by awarding tenders and avoiding fair competition for state money. Parties should be forced, by the new law, to keep their financial records for a long legal time limit, to stop the occurrence of the disposal of these records immediately, as has often happened in recent years. The failure to foresee this legal norm in the interventions of 2011, 2014 and even 2020 incompletely, has not made it possible for political subjects in cases of questionable financing, it is easy for them to escape the subsequent investigations that can be developed for such cases. Political parties in Albania should be obliged by law to publish their financial self-statements to the general public, as well as to their members. The only information so far is that provided by the Central Election Commission (CEC) and published on the CEC's official website. The lack of transparency in this aspect is flagrant and does not allow citizens to have public access to political parties, making the latter completely irresponsible and not accountable to citizens and public opinion. On the official websites of the political parties in Albania today, there is no valuable information regarding the party's financing, donors, financial quotations, etc. In all parties, members find it difficult to provide information on the funds received and spent by their party. This is scandalous and paradoxical, at a time when, with the Law on the right to information, public transparency has become an assessment criterion and basic standard for every public institution. But so far not for political parties! Although the parties themselves are offered as generators and monitors of this law, they have not met any of the standards required by it. The 2000 Act is an unenforceable dinosaur in almost every provision of it. According to him, the provision of funds by a legal entity or any of its shareholders is prohibited in case it has benefited from public funds, public contracts or concessions in the last 2 years worth more than 10 million Lek, is active in the media field, has been a partner with public funds in various projects, has monetary obligations to the State Budget or to any public institution. The practice has resulted in at least a thousand cases of violation of this legal provision. The law must be amended again urgently. Fines and sanctions should be added at times. But who will take this initiative?