News 2013

2013

December


November

  • Presented experiences in effective disclosure regulations at OECD conference in Paris
  • Met Members of Parliament in Sweden (mainly from the Constitutional Committee) to discuss the draft bill on political party finance oversight, in an event organised by International IDEA and the OSCE/ODIHR.
  • Reviewed White Paper on political finance reform in Ukraine.

 

  

October

  • Present the experiences of the effective enforcement of political finance enforcement at a seminar with parliamentarians and other stakeholders in Skopje, FYR Macedonia. The event was organised by the OSCE Mission to Skopje and the State Commission Against Corruption. 
  • Meet with multi-stakeholder working groups addressing the issue of political finance and gender equality in Tunis, Tunisia and Sana’a, Yemen. This is part of IFES’ regional initiative on engendering political finance in the MENA region. 
  • Complete analysis of the Election Campaign Financing Bill currently before parliament in Kenya, analysing weaknesses in the draft law but also expected challenges in the implementation of the bill.
  • After several years in the making, the IFES Political Finance Oversight Handbook is published. The book is part of the Training in Detection and Enforcement (TIDE) curriculum, and is aimed at public institutions mandated at overseeing political finance regulations.

 

September

  • Co-host workshop in Amman, Jordan to evaluate the multi-year regional initiative on political finance in the MENA region. The publication I edited as part of the project; Political Finance: Middle East and North Africa, is launched. Meet with the Chair of the Central Election Commission and discuss the approach to enhance transparency of political finance in Jordan.
  • Chair session on the monitoring of campaign finance at the Declaration of Principles Meeting on International Election Observation, organised by OSCE/ODIHR in Warsaw, Poland
  • The IFES Nigeria political finance newsletter, which I edited 2011-2012 is celebrating its third anniversary!

 

August

  • Meet with the State Audit Office in Georgia to discuss further assistance. Also hold several meetings with Transparency International Georgia about their campaign finance monitoring initiative relating to the upcoming presidential elections. 
  • Complete analysis of the political finance situation in Bangladesh, developed to assist the Election Commission in its enforcement efforts.

 

July

  • Meet with civil society organisations in Malé, Maldives, to discuss campaign finance efforts in relation to the upcoming elections, and to assist in the completion of the political finance status analysis. 
  • Present the current situation on political party finance in Europe at the Political Party Expert seminar in Warsaw, Poland, organised by OSCE/ODIHR.

 

June

  • Work with I WATCH in Tunis, Tunisia on their preparation for campaign finance monitoring, continuing the assistance from last year and the spring. 
  • End my assistance regarding political finance transparency in Afghanistan, after over four years’ engagement.

 

May

  • Discuss the progress of the International IDEA Political Finance Handbook, which I am co-editing with Elin Falguera, at a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Review the preliminary study about political finance in Kyrgyzstan, developed by the local partner of ERIS as part of their multi-country political finance initiative.

 

April

  • Participate in country workshop organised in Kuwait City, Kuwait, as part of the IFES regional initiative on political finance in the MENA region. Present international experience in effective regulation and oversight. 
  • Complete most sections of the Training in Detection and Enforcement (TIDE) Handbook for IFES. Start of expert review phase.

 

March

  • Present the international experience in effective political finance enforcement at IFES/OSCE event in Tbilisi, Georgia. Meet the State Audit Office and Transparency International Georgia to discuss cooperation so far and future assistance. 
  • First drafts received of several of the regional chapters for the International IDEA Political Finance Handbook.

 

February

  • Participate in regional workshop on political finance monitoring in Tozeur, southern Tunisia, organised by I WATCH. 
  • Develop political finance engagement strategy with multi-stakeholder working group in Malé, Maldives.

 

January

  • Participate in regional workshops on political finance monitoring in Hammamet and Sousse, Tunisia, organised by I WATCH. 
  • Complete the voter education facet of the IFES Electoral Processes Diagnosis (EPD) initiative after input from South African expert.