Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, head of the ODIHR election observation mission, stated that the ODIHR election methodology includes this topic as well.
“The monitoring will be conducted by looking at the situation on the ground and what has been implemented from previous recommendations in this area. This is one of the most important areas,” he added.
Meanwhile, the deputy head of the ODIHR observation mission, Mark Stevens, emphasized that financing election campaigns is a major challenge in many countries.
“We look at it from two perspectives. From a legislative perspective, if the legislation is up to the standards in terms of transparency, we make the appropriate recommendations and then we see how well those recommendations are implemented,” Stevens added.
The second perspective, he said, is the administration of campaign finance reporting to electoral bodies. “How are campaign finance reports managed and administered? Another thing that complicates this area is the costs,” he said.
/r.e/j.p/sm/