Article 7 para 3 of the UN Convention against Corruption obliges States Parties consider “taking appropriate legislative and administrative measures (…), to enhance transparency in the funding of candidatures for elected public office and, where applicable, the funding of political parties.”32 Recommendation 2003(4) to member states on common rules against corruption in the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns also urges States to provide specific rules to “ensure transparency of donations and avoid secret donations.”33 As stated in the Guidelines on Political Party Regulation “[t]ransparency in party and campaign finance, (…) is important to protect the rights of voters and to prevent corruption. Transparency is also important because the public has the right to be informed. Voters must have relevant information as to the financial support given to political parties in order to hold parties accountable.”34 However “[w]hile transparency may be increased by requirements to report the identities of donors, legislation should balance such a requirement with considerations of privacy and protection from intimidation”.35 Including the workplace of donors into reporting requirements, let alone making this information publicly accessible seems a disproportionate requirement which might deter individuals from donating to political parties and as such, may interfere with their right to privacy in an unjustified manner. It also does not seem necessary for the purposes of identification. Additionally, it should be clarified what “data in information document” entails and whether it refers to the number of the document only or more far reaching information, potentially including the address or place of residence of the donor which should not be made public. It is recommended for the Law to clearly state which information related to individual donors need to be published by a political party keeping in mind the balance between transparency and privacy concerns, to delete the requirement of submitting (and publishing) information of a donor’s work place and to clarify that the data required from the ID document refers to the number of the document only.
