Parliament this evening started debating a bill to regulate party financing.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said it was the third bill moved by this government aimed at improving transparency in politics. It follows that removing prescription on crimes committed by politicians and the Whistleblower Act.

The bill regulating party financing, which he said was based on a private member’s bill presented in the previous legislature by former MP Franco Debono, proposed the creation of structures with the aim of strengthening political parties

It introduced minimum requirements for the setting up of political parties and provided for how they could be dissolved. This, he said, could be either by a motion approved by two thirds of the party member or by a court decision. A court could only order the dissolution of a party if it was proven that the party persistently promoted discrimination to the detriment of democracy.

He said that the Council of Europe’s Group of States Against Corruption (Greco) generally welcomed the bill and called for it to come into effect as soon as possible.

Dr Bonnici said that a three-tier system for donations was being proposed creating a balance between flexibility, one’s right to private and democracy.

The new legislation would not permit donations in excess of €40,000. Anonymous donations could not be higher than €50 and a political party would be duty bound to keep records of donations of between €50 and €500.

Donations over €7,000 would have to be declared by reference to their source in the party’s returns to the Electoral Commission.

Provisions in other acts which capped the amount a candidate could spend in election would remain in place but would be made more realistic. More serious consequences for their breach would also be introduced.

The bill proposed that candidates would be allowed to spend €20,000 on their electoral campaign for each district being contested in the case of a General Election against the current €1,400.

The capping was €50,000 for European Parliament elections and €5,000 for local elections.

Dr Bonnici said it also provided for a constitutional amendment to se t up amechanism through which, when an elected candidate filed a false declaration of electoral expenses or incurred expenses in excess of the amounts permissible by law, that candidate would be unseated from the House by a decision of the Constitutional Court.

The bill, he said, would set the political parties' house in order.

It was only then that the country should start considering state financing for the parties, he said.