Media

speech

The importance of ICT for money in politics oversight

SPEECH DELIVERED:
19 July 2018
Tbilisi, Georgia

Money and politics are intrinsically interlinked.

However, if the financing of political parties and election campaigns is not adequately regulated, money will be used for undue influence and policy capture by narrow private interests. This will disable inclusive growth and decrease trust in government and ultimately in democratic processes. And this is unfortunately true in today’s world.

Sticking with the status quo is not an option.

There is an urgent need to better regulate the origin and destination of funds, and to do so in a transparent manner. Since the early 2000s, International IDEA has worked on improving the role of money in politics. Initially, we mainly focused on well-designed political finance regulations.

View or download the PDF to read the complete speech.

About the Speaker

Secretary-General
Yves Leterme

Prior to International IDEA, Yves Leterme served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2007 to 2011. Belgium held the Presidency of the European Union during Leterme’s tenure as Prime Minister. He then served as Deputy Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris from 2011 to 2014.