Home > 6 Political parties > MOLDOVA - Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on Changes to the Electoral Code
 
 
 
Download file    
 
 
Paragraph 24
 

The draft law does not address political party and campaign financing in detail. Relevant provisions of the Electoral Code thus mostly remain unchanged. While a package of amendments to political party and campaign finance regulations was adopted in April 2015, addressing some previous OSCE/ODIHR, Venice Commission and Council of Europe’s Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) recommendations, further reforms are necessary. According to the OSCE/ODIHR final report on the 2015 local elections, transparency, oversight and enforcement mechanisms continue to require improvement, in particular with regard to disclosure, comprehensive reporting and enforcement. In addition, for the 2014 parliamentary elections, the PACE delegation expressed its concerns due to the high level of campaign expenditure, the use of funds from abroad and, particularly, the “opaque sources of funding of some media outlets whose holding companies are allegedly registered offshore; the lack of transparency concerning media ownership; the control of the media by various businessmen and oligarchs and their close relationship with political parties.” The Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR recommend using the opportunity of the current legislative revision process to address the outstanding concerns expressed in previous opinions and election observation reports with regard to political party and campaign finance.