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- Public funding of parties will curb corruption - Canada's former elections boss
published: Thursday | December 4, 2008
Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter
Kingsley
CANADA'S FORMER director of elections, Jean Pierre Kingsley, is encouraging Jamaica to press ahead with plans to fund political parties from the public purse.
Kingsley was the main presenter during a forum on campaign-finance reform held at the Mona Visitors' Lodge at the University of the West Indies, Mona, yesterday.
The former director of elections, who is credited with leading the modernisation of the Canadian voting process, urged the Electoral Commis-sion of Jamaica (ECJ) to continue with the proposed reform of campaign finance. He added that if this was not done, then the country's democracy could be compromised.
"If the political system does not regulate the money, then one may well expect that the money will regulate the system," Kingsley said, while noting that most Jamaicans were in favour of their tax dollars being used to fund political parties.
Majority says yes
According to an ECJ survey on the relationship between governments and political parties, 71 per cent of Jamaicans support funding political parties from the public purse.
Kingsley said 49 per cent of Jamaicans were strongly in support of directing their tax dollars to fund political parties.
He argued that 56 per cent of those surveyed said strengthening political parties financially with public funds would help preserve and enhance democracy.
"Money is required in politics and rightly so, if the aims of democracy are to be achieved," he said.
Kingsley stressed that it was important for Jamaica to ensure that the money being used to drive the engine of its democracy was beyond question and did not come at a cost to citizens.
Enhance governance
Jamaica ranks second from bottom on the 2007 World Bank Governance Index in the Caribbean, sitting only above Haiti. Accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption are the indicators used in the index.
Supporters of campaign-finance reform have for years argued that public financing would enhance the quality of governance and reduce the influence of dirty money in the electoral system.
Not a problem solver
However, the former Canadian electoral official said moving to public financing in itself would not solve the problem.
"You need a strong investigative function and you need a strong prosecutorial function in order to give teeth and meaning to the law," Kingsley said.
Professor Trevor Munroe, a University of the West Indies lecturer of political science and defeated People's National Party candidate in the 2007 general election, told the gathering that the overwhelming number of Jamaicans embracing the idea of public financing of parties came as a surprise.
"We need to structure a system of public funding in keeping with our needs at this time," Munroe told the forum.
He said the legislative framework which accompanies the change must be more bite than the proverbial bark.
"We do need something with teeth and we do need that as a matter of some urgency, given the concerns among our own citizenry about the levels of corruption (in politics)," Munroe said.
Tax credits
Jamaica Labour Party member Tom Tavares-Finson said it costs an estimated $30 million per year to run a political party efficiently.
Under Canadian law, political parties receive public funding, directly in election expense reimbursements, and indirectly through tax credits to donors. They are, however, forbidden from accepting contributions from corporations and unions. Parties are also required to file quarterly financial reports.
published: Thursday | December 4, 2008
Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter
Kingsley
CANADA'S FORMER director of elections, Jean Pierre Kingsley, is encouraging Jamaica to press ahead with plans to fund political parties from the public purse.
Kingsley was the main presenter during a forum on campaign-finance reform held at the Mona Visitors' Lodge at the University of the West Indies, Mona, yesterday.
The former director of elections, who is credited with leading the modernisation of the Canadian voting process, urged the Electoral Commis-sion of Jamaica (ECJ) to continue with the proposed reform of campaign finance. He added that if this was not done, then the country's democracy could be compromised.
"If the political system does not regulate the money, then one may well expect that the money will regulate the system," Kingsley said, while noting that most Jamaicans were in favour of their tax dollars being used to fund political parties.
Majority says yes
According to an ECJ survey on the relationship between governments and political parties, 71 per cent of Jamaicans support funding political parties from the public purse.
Kingsley said 49 per cent of Jamaicans were strongly in support of directing their tax dollars to fund political parties.
He argued that 56 per cent of those surveyed said strengthening political parties financially with public funds would help preserve and enhance democracy.
"Money is required in politics and rightly so, if the aims of democracy are to be achieved," he said.
Kingsley stressed that it was important for Jamaica to ensure that the money being used to drive the engine of its democracy was beyond question and did not come at a cost to citizens.
Enhance governance
Jamaica ranks second from bottom on the 2007 World Bank Governance Index in the Caribbean, sitting only above Haiti. Accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption are the indicators used in the index.
Supporters of campaign-finance reform have for years argued that public financing would enhance the quality of governance and reduce the influence of dirty money in the electoral system.
Not a problem solver
However, the former Canadian electoral official said moving to public financing in itself would not solve the problem.
"You need a strong investigative function and you need a strong prosecutorial function in order to give teeth and meaning to the law," Kingsley said.
Professor Trevor Munroe, a University of the West Indies lecturer of political science and defeated People's National Party candidate in the 2007 general election, told the gathering that the overwhelming number of Jamaicans embracing the idea of public financing of parties came as a surprise.
"We need to structure a system of public funding in keeping with our needs at this time," Munroe told the forum.
He said the legislative framework which accompanies the change must be more bite than the proverbial bark.
"We do need something with teeth and we do need that as a matter of some urgency, given the concerns among our own citizenry about the levels of corruption (in politics)," Munroe said.
Tax credits
Jamaica Labour Party member Tom Tavares-Finson said it costs an estimated $30 million per year to run a political party efficiently.
Under Canadian law, political parties receive public funding, directly in election expense reimbursements, and indirectly through tax credits to donors. They are, however, forbidden from accepting contributions from corporations and unions. Parties are also required to file quarterly financial reports.
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