A delegation of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), led by the chairperson of the authority, Angelica Caraman, is taking a study visit to Zagreb, Republic of Croatia, on December 12-13. The activity aims to consolidate the institutional capacities concerning oversight and control of political financing and is organized with the support of the Council of Europe (CoE) within the project "Improving electoral practices in the Republic of Moldova, phase II".
The visit is a good opportunity to exchange information and experience with colleagues from the State Electoral Commission of Croatia (CES Croatia) and take over good practices in the field of oversight and control of the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns.
Angelica Caraman, Chairperson of the CEC, had a brief presentation on the electoral processes from the Republic of Moldova, the organizational structure and the activities carried out by the CEC, emphasizing the Commission duties in the field of political financing. "The subject of control and oversight of the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns is one of the major objectives on the agenda of our institution, and the improvement of regulations and mechanisms that would increase the transparency of these processes is a priority for us. Since 2015, when the CEC obtained new legal powers in this field, we have recorded several successes, and with the implementation of the new Electoral Code, we will have a fairer and more transparent financial reporting process".
Radovan Dobronic, Chairperson of CES Croatia, welcomed the interest of the Moldovan electoral authority in Croatian experience in the field of political financing, noting that his country had a long way to join the European Union, and the development and implementation of policies in the field of ensuring the transparency of political financing have contributed to this field meeting all the requirements established in the community IQ. The laws that regulate this field are beneficial for all electoral actors: political parties honor their obligations related to the completion and presentation of financial reports, the electoral authority exercises the powers of supervision and control, and the general public has access to these data, all reports being placed on the web page of the institution.
In this context, the Croatian colleagues made a presentation about: the election administration system and the evolution of electoral processes in Croatia; the normative framework that regulates political financing; the impact of the pre-accession and accession to the European Union of the Republic of Croatia on the reform of the oversight system of political activities; the system of financial reporting of income and expenses by the parties and other entities that benefit from periodic annual funding. Other topics discussed related to the methods and instruments of financing oversight, ensuring the transparency of political financing and the protection of personal data, the interaction between the electoral authority, state and private institutions in carrying out control actions, the sanctions applied, etc.
We recall that in December 2021 the Central Electoral Commission established a specialized department in the field of oversight and control of the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns, and during the current year several activities are undertaken to strengthen the capacities and responsibilities of the new department in the above-mentioned field and to establish interconnection and interinstitutional collaboration between the CEC and other public authorities responsible for financial control. The mentioned activity is also part of the Action Plan for the implementation of the measures proposed by the European Commission in its Opinion on the request for accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union.