MAP - Preconditions to Meaningful Political Finance Reform
To achieve significant progress in any disclosure project certain preconditions (described below) must be met. Three are of particular importance: (1) the country needs to reach a particular level of democratic development and should be committed to democratic principles; (2) major stakeholders should be ready to seriously regulate and control political finance (political will and capacity to comply and implement reforms); and (3) realistic goals and objectives need to be established that are grounded in a solid understanding of the political finance environment and the context within which it operates.
Not all countries or entities may be ready for disclosure-related initiatives. An initial pre-assessment should be conducted for each country being considered for programming. IFES learned that reviewing the regulatory framework alone is not a sufficient indicator for success. It is the implementation or, at least, the capacity to implement the regulations that is critical. Thus, a pre-assessment should support the following five assumptions in order for a disclosure-related program to be successful:
Disclosure will not create security concerns for different political groups, particularly opposition parties and independent candidates.
1. There is an environment in which reform can occur and disclosure process sustained.
2. There is sufficient regulatory framework and/or regulatory reforms can be undertaken.
3. There is a committed governmental and civil society partner with which to work.
4. There
is a free media, independent journalism, and vibrant
civil society.