(Non) transparency in the financing of political parties
Foundation Open Society - Macedonia (FOOM) and Transparency Macedonia (TM) organized a round table titled ‘Transparency in the financing of political parties’ on November 17, on the occasion of the publication of the results from the first periodic report.
In his opening address, Professor Vanco Uzunov emphasized that the financing of political parties is still unclear and vague, and it is a fertile ground for corruption, not only because of the inconsistencies in the way it is being regulated, but also in the way it is applied. The Republic of Macedonia, through a series of laws, has committed itself to provide equal access to the funding sources of all political parties, and to provide an efficient control mechanism to guarantee accountability and transparency in the financing of political parties. However, there are many inconsistencies among the political parties and state institutions which had competencies over the process. The state institutions do not fulfill their competences, as for the political parties – there is an impression that there is a consensus among them not to talk openly about their financing.
Political Parties Must Disclose Their Benefactors
Last year the Commission for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Information was addressed with as many as 110 appeals lodged against political parties. In Commission’s opinion, the high number of appeals lodged against political parties is mainly a result of their reluctance to disclose financial information and reports on donations received, as well as their ignorance of the legislation in effect that governs this matter. Moreover, the political parties are not unique in demonstrating such behaviour, given that these practices are applied by the institutions as well. Actually, this situation was stated today on the events organized around the International Right to Know Day.
International Right to Know Day
On the occasion of the International Right to Know Day – 28th September 2011 - the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia, Transparency Macedonia, Metamorphosis Foundation, Macedonian Young Lawyers’ Association, Youth Educational Forum and Civil – Center for Freedom, launched the website www.spinfo.org.mk.
Analysis of legislation drafting by means of regulatory impact assessment in the course 2010
The present analysis of legislation drafting by means of developing regulatory impact assessments is a result of monitoring activities taken by the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association in the course of 2010 and as part of the project “Right to Know, Right to Participate”, supported by the Foundation Open Society Institute – Macedonia. The monitoring aimed to determine the manner in which legislation is drafted by state authorities, i.e., the manner in which state authorities determine the need for adoption of new or amendments to existing laws.
Administrative Court takes unlawful ruling on limiting free access to information
It took nearly 4 years for the citizen who submitted a request for free access to information to have his request re-considered for response. The information request concerned the following: “How many cases in the course of 2006 and 2007 included use of special investigation measures?"
Home