Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty

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116 Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty Democracy Table 6.3: Requirement for candidates to stand in parliamentary elections (first chamber) Sign registration forms or file application Countries No. Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe Payment of a deposit Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Sierra Leone, Togo, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe No registration requirements Mali and Mauritius 2 Other Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Malawi, Morocco, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tunisia, Zambia No regulation Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania Source: Compiled from the ACE database, http://www.aceproject.org>, downloaded July 2006. In bicameral Malawi, Morocco and Namibia, candidates are expected to register or file an application and pay a deposit as main requirements for contesting the elections. 6.7 The funding of political parties and election campaigns This section reproduces parts of Yaw Saffu’s contribution ‘The Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns in Africa’, in IDEA’s Handbook Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns (2003). 6.7.1 Legal provisions governing political fund-raising Political financing is relatively under-regulated in Africa. In general, the raising of funds by parties and candidates is a matter of unregulated self-help. Fewer than one in five African states have comprehensive laws to govern the raising of revenue, detail permitted sources of revenue, prohibit others (such as foreign and corporate donations), or impose ceilings and specify sanctions. Laws demanding the disclosure 15 11 9 11
International Idea of sources of party funds and audited accounts—the minimum regulation required to grapple with the issues associated with the difficult relationship between political financing and liberal democratic governance—exists only in a tiny minority of African states. Even in those states, implementation is usually a problem. There appears to be no rhyme or reason or pattern to the current patchwork of legal provisions on political financing to be found in Africa. Mali, for instance, bans any form of foreign donations but has no provisions regarding other aspects of political financing. South Africa has no provisions on general disclosure or bans on foreign donations but it has provision for substantial public funding and accounting requirements with respect to the public funds. Kenya used to have limits on campaign spending by parties and candidates (although admittedly these were universally ignored), but removed them in 1992, before the first multiparty elections to be held there since the 1970s. In 1999, however, the Kenyan Parliament approved a bill for state funding of political parties (The Nation 21 July 1999; Pan-African News Agency 22 July 1999). For reasons of partisan or personal advantage, incumbents at the time of transition, during constitution-making and at the passing of legislation on political parties, elections and electoral commissions have preferred to address none or only some of the issues involved in political financing. The opposition parties which stand to benefit most from the adoption of regulations that enhance transparency and limit funding and spending have usually been too divided and too weak for their views and interests to influence these provisions strongly. 6.7.2 Sources of income of African political parties All methods of funding political parties practised elsewhere in the world are also in use in Africa. These are listed here in what, it is argued, is a descending order of conformity with democratic ideals and the principles of good governance. The most compatible with democracy would be party membership dues, local fundraising by party activists, and small, individual donations by party members and sympathizers. Next would be levies on the salaries of categories of party members occupying offices of state, public funding, and returns on investment portfolios. Further away from the democratic ideal would be donations by interest groups, lobbyists and corporate bodies, and investments by political entrepreneurs—the founders, proprietors or owners of political parties who launch and finance parties Party Structures and Internal Organization
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Besides this report on political pa
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5. Party Structures and Internal Or
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0 Chapter 1 Methodology
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Mauritius Labour Party Mauritian Mi
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Chapter 2 Introduction
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Chapter 3 Context
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3.1 The internal context 3.1.1 Soci
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3.2 The external context Political
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• the Pan-African Parliament; •
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Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty

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