III. DISCUSSION OF THE DRAFT NATIONAL ELECTIONS LAW AND THE DRAFT ELECTION COMMISSIONS LAW

N. Financing of elections

Article 42 of the draft national elections law provides for the formation of a control-revision group at the CEC to oversee expenses in connection with the election budget and a candidate’s or party’s campaign funds. This is a welcome step. Work of this group can be beneficial for monitoring election-related expenses and bringing deviations to the attention of the respective bodies, including the electorate. Candidates and parties participating in elections are obliged to submit reports to the CEC on their funds and expenditures (Article 41(16)). The draft law however does not specify that these reports are made publicly available. Further, the draft provides no specific regulations on what information should be included in the financial reports. In order to provide timely and relevant campaign finance information to the public,the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR recommend that the law should require full disclosure, before and after elections, of sources and amounts of financial contributions and the types and amounts of campaign expenditures. Since the CEC receives these reports this information can also be published on the CEC website.