Financing of Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns in Kosovo

Abstract

Abstract

One of the most fundamental issues for the establishment, organization and functioning of political parties and other forms of political organization and unification is the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns. Financing of political parties and election campaigns is determined by special laws. In the Republic of Kosovo, this funding is determined by the Law on Financing of Political Parties and the Law on Elections. It determines the financing of parliamentary and non-parliamentary political parties from the state budget; financing quotas as well as their financing by membership, private financing, service financing, etc., the parties are obliged to report on financial and service expenses. Exceeding these costs means violating the law. For lack of transparency of monetary expenditures, political parties should be punished by the relevant bodies. This punishment of political parties is carried out in the form of a fine, the removal of any candidate from the electoral list and the prohibition of the concrete legal action of the political party. In Kosovo, political parties do not objectively report income and financial expenses from membership; revenues from private financing and expenditures from services. In this way, the belief has been created that political parties can circumvent legal norms, given that the Central Election Commission has so far imposed relatively small sentences.