The Electoral Commission cannot be expected to serve as a watchdog on political party financing, according to Alternattiva Demokratika.

Instead the overseeing authority should be the Standards Commissioner, a new post being considered by Parliament to regulate the ethical behaviour of politicians, AD deputy chairman Carmel Cacopardo told a press conference.

The Standards Commissioner is expected to be appointed with a two-thirds majority in Parliament and enjoy the same independence as the Ombudsman and the Auditor General.

“The Electoral Commission is in the clutches of the two main parties,” Mr Cacopardo said.

The White Paper made no reference to the parties’ commercial firms

AD said it agreed in principle with the proposed legislation in a White Paper on party financing published last week but called for an overhaul of the details.

The consultation process will be open until the end of March and the government expects to present a Bill before Parliament by June or July.

AD chairman Arnold Cassola said that the upper threshold above which donations would be illegal should be €40,000 and not €50,000.

He said all donations up to €4,000 should remain confidential but all other donations should be reported.

Prof. Cassola said the White Paper made no reference to the parties’ commercial firms, which could serve as an indirect conduit for donations apart from distorting the level playing field in the commercial sector.

A case in point was the use of party billboards for commercial purposes, he said.

AD believes that loans advanced by individuals or companies should also be scrutinised and election expenditure limits should apply to parties apart from candidates.

Meanwhile, employer associations have no position yet on the proposed law to regulate political party financing.

Spokesmen for the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Employers Association told The Sunday Times of Malta that their organisations had not discussed the matter.

White Paper at a glance

• Limits are placed on donations to political parties and individual candidates.

• Although individual candidates have spending limits during election campaigns, no such limit is imposed on political parties.

• There is no mention of the political parties’ commercial wings that may be used as an indirect channel for receiving donations.

• Loans forwarded to political parties by individuals or businesses, a source of controversy in the UK, are not regulated.

• Rules define what a political party is and which structures it should have but there is fear of overregulation that can stifle democracy.

The collection limits

• €500 – The annual limit for a donor to remain anonymous. Any donations above this limit will have to be logged.

• €50,000 – The annual limit above which a donation or aggregate donations from the same source will be illegal.

• €10,000 – Donations above this amount but within the legal limit will have to be logged with the Electoral Commission.

The spending limits

• €25,000 – Expenditure for a general election candidate.

• €50,000 – Expenditure for a European Parliament election candidate.

• €5,000 – Expenditure for local council election candidate.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com