Curing the cancer of corruption : a comparative & analytical study of the Political Parties Financing Act

Abstract

Money and politics are inextricably linked. A functioning democracy necessitates a flow of money through the political sphere. However, a democracy is vulnerable to being infiltrated by corruption should illegal practices be allowed to flourish. Thus, open and transparent funding of political parties is vital in the fight against corruption. The Funding of Political Parties Act was recently enacted as a direct measure of enhancing transparency and thwarting corruption. It withers the adverse effects of money in politics and prevents politicians from becoming less responsive to voters by dissolving a political party’s close ties with its financiers. The revolutionary Act is the first ever domestic legal instrument tasked with comprehensively regulating the functioning of political parties in Malta’s legal system. This study conducts a dissection of the Act parallel to a comparative analysis of foreign political finance laws and certain suggestions are made for the purpose of refining the Act. The findings from this research illustrate that the Act imposes a set of obligations on political actors, such as the duty of financial reporting and that of observing private donation limits. Enforcement powers are bestowed onto the Electoral Commission and it has a mandate to receive audited reports and render them public, and investigate infringements. Different types of sanctions serve to deter political actors from breaching their duties under the Act. Political finance is comprised of private contributions and public funding. Notwithstanding the lack of public funding regulations in the Act, this thesis also examines the notion of State funding and ultimately draws up a proposal for domestic public funding.