Party Law and Finance

For over a decade, International IDEA has been a leading global force in the area of political finance and political parties law. Together, political finance laws and political parties laws constitute an important part of what forms the legal framework under which political parties operate. International IDEA has been providing international comparative examples to those engaged in the drafting of these laws for years.

Political Finance Database

In early 2012, the Institute launched its completely renewed political finance database, an overview of political finance legislation for 180 countries across the globe.

The database describes different types of national regulations and can be used to compare provisions across countries and regions.

What's included?

• how independent candidates are regulated;
• efforts to stop the abuse of state resources;
• public finance as a means of increasing gender equality within political parties and among electoral candidates;
• bans against vote buying;
• actual quotes, making it easy to locate and compare legal provisions; and
• legislation and reports as the primary sources for responses.

What's it for?

The database can be used by anyone interested in or working on political reforms in the area of political party and candidate finance. Knowing the laws and regulations in place makes it possible to identify potential loopholes and measures to improve enforcement. The information can serve as the basis for policy dialogue and the building of sound political financial systems. It can also serve as the starting point for continued research and analysis.

How was data collected?

The database is based on assessments of the different national legislative frameworks on political finance. Multiple research teams around the world were provided with instructions and were asked to answer each of the 43 questions. Over 1,000 laws, reports and other documents have been collected throughout the project. A large group of experts and institutions have verified the data to guarantee its accuracy.

For more information, please email: political-finance@idea.int

Political party law

The behavior of political parties in any country is demarcated by a set of laws. These laws can range anywhere from a country's constitution to the political parties law, electoral law, political finance law, campaign finance law, and sometimes underlying regulations that specify such laws in greater detail. In these laws, the rules and conditions are defined for processes such as political party registration, candidate nomination or public funding for political parties. 

With the continuous evolution of multiparty systems all over the world, International IDEA is regularly asked to assist in developing these laws. In 2012, it has been actively involved in the development of political parties laws in Kenya and Mongolia. The Institute's assistance is built on research in this area, vast collection of political parties laws, as well as on the comparative experience of having been directly involved in similar reform processes in a variety of countries.

Further resources:

Publications on party finance by International IDEA:

• Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns in the Americas (2005)
• De las normas a las buenas prácticas – El desafío del financiamiento político en América Latina (2004)
  
• From Grassroots to the Airwaves – Paying for Political Parties and Campaigns in the Caribbean (2005)
• The Delicate Balance between Political Equity and Freedom of Expression – Political Party and Campaign Financing in Canada and the United States (2005)

All these publications may be downloaded directly from International IDEA's website by following the respective links above. A CD-ROM containing the publications is also available.