Home > 2 Organising the elections > KOSOVO - Kosovo - Opinion on the “draft law on amending and supplementing the Law no. 03/l-174 on the Financing of Political Entities (Amended and Supplemented by the Law no. 04/l-058 and the Law no. 04/l-122) and the Law no. 003/l-073 on General Elections
 
 
 
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Paragraph 18
 

In Rec(2003)4, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers calls upon member states to, inter alia, ensure transparency and independent monitoring in respect of the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns, as well as enforcement of the rules through effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions. Likewise, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in its Recommendation 1516 (2001) on Financing of Political Parties underlines the need for complete transparency of accounts, the establishment of an independent audit authority and meaningful sanctions for those who violate the rules. The importance of transparency in the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns is also stressed in Article 7, paragraph 3 of the UN Convention against Corruption, the Venice Commission Guidelines and Report on the Financing of Political Parties, the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, the Code of Good Practice in the field of Political Parties and in previous opinions of the Venice Commission. According to the Guidelines, “the regulation of political party funding is essential to guarantee parties independence from undue influence created by donors and to ensure the opportunity for all parties to compete in accordance with the principle of equal opportunity and to provide for transparency in political finance.” Transparency in party and campaign finance “is important to protect the rights of voters as well as prevent corruption. Transparency is also important because the public has the right to receive relevant information and to be informed.”