The financing of political parties : an appraisal (2017-2022)

Abstract

Party financing has been at the forefront of political discourse in Malta for several years. The law enacted in 2015 has been pivotal in regulating party financing and increasing transparency in the political process. Notwithstanding this, it is becoming increasingly evident that party financing still needs serious reforming, and major flaws in the Party Financing Act need to be addressed. As a result of the ever-increasing sophistication and complexity of communications and other technologies for campaigning to win the popular vote, the political party's financial needs have increased drastically. Consequently, vast resources are needed to conduct an effective electoral campaign and sustain their day-to-day operations. Therein, political parties require permanent financial aid that must be offered by the state to enable them to carry out their functions more professionally. In light of this, there is the need to enhance the transparency and accountability of Political Parties while promoting equitability between them. In the meantime, political parties that fail to observe the regulations set shall incur fines and other sanctions among others, the suspension of public funding or the revocation of the party’s legal registration through a newly recommended set up authority that would be more autonomous and empowered by law to fight tooth and nail abuses from taking place.