Adopt the Law that opens the wallets of political parties

Pristina, 17 03 2022 – The Assembly of Kosovo is expected to examine today, among other things, the Draft Law on the Financing of Political Entities. This is the third time, namely the third legislature in a row, that this draft law goes through the legislative procedure in the parliament.

The failure to review and approve this very important law has continuously violated the transparency and financial accountability of political entities, which receive over 4 million euros from the state budget every year, as well as represents a setback in the implementation of the European Reform Agenda (ERA).

The new draft law on Financing of Political Entities largely addresses the concerns regarding the lack of financial transparency of political entities. Knowing the many failures and delays in the selection of auditors by the Assembly, by means of this draft law, the competence for the selection of auditors is transferred to the Office for Registration of Political Parties and Certification, which has been provided with a high level of functional and budgetary independence. Likewise, the contributions that political subjects can receive, as well as the sanctioning measures in case of violations, are defined. At the same time, we recall that this draft law is in accordance with the opinion of the Venice Commission as well as the demands and recommendations of the civil society.

We, civil society organizations, estimate that the further delay of this draft law is unreasonable, as well as damages the integrity of political entities and the public’s credibility towards them. We understand the different positions that political subjects may have regarding the draft law as a whole or certain parts of it, however, we request that these positions be expressed and translated into contributions during the review of the draft law between the two readings.

Therefore, we call on the deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo, both from the position and from the opposition, to vote for the approval of this draft law in principle without further delay.

We will continue providing our expertise through concrete recommendations in order to advance the draft law during the discussions in the period between the two readings. Also, we will closely monitor the work of the Assembly bodies that will be involved in the review of this draft law.

Organizations:

The FOL movement

Kosovo Democratic Institute / Transparency International Kosovo

Democracy Plus (D+)

Democracy for Development (D4D)

Organization Rise / Preportr