(Trinidad Express) Chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Norbert Masson says democracy in Trinidad and Tobago is being undermined by political party financiers.
Masson described the state of affairs in T&T as “absolutely frustrating” but doubts it can change by the next general election, which is due in 2015.
“Democracy is threatened because what they are doing is reducing it to a gigantic farce. If, by putting money into politics, you can change the voting patterns and so on, then obviously you are interfering with democracy,” he said about campaign financiers.
Masson was speaking yesterday on the issue of political party funding and campaign financing at the anti-corruption conference hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI) at the Hilton Trinidad in St Ann’s.
“The urge of political parties to obtain campaign funds and the gains some contributors anticipate from their donations spawn a multitude of practices that lead to contamination and corruption of the electoral process, thereby distorting democracy and by extension governance of the State; electoral representatives becoming the alter egos of monopoly capitalists and other assorted mountebanks,” he said.
He questioned whether elections conducted in a free-for-all campaign-financing environment can be regarded as free and fair.
Masson said: “Examination of a sample of real campaign funding scandals including corruption as reported in the literature reveals a wide variety of methodologies, some of which are:
(1) use for political-party purposes of money (“kickbacks”) obtained by means of corrupt transactions such as inflated government contracts;
(2.) unauthorised use of State resources such as transport facilities and equipment in the conduct of political campaigns;
(3.) use of funds obtained from defendants accused of corrupt practices in return for avoidance of prosecution or corrupted judgments in legal entanglements with the State;
(4.) use of money obtained in the form of bribes from local or foreign companies for favours such as grant of concessions and licences;
(5.) use of money obtained in advance in anticipation of an exchange of favours when a representative obtains office; and
(6.) vote-buying by treating and by the grant of a variety of favours.
Masson explained that the Representation of the People Act (ROP) permits electoral candidates to spend $50,000.
However, he said, “it is blatantly obvious that enormous expenditure is incurred in media advertisements alone, financed by whomsoever unknown, in support of participants’ candidature, there is more than a taint of strong corruption inhabiting our frail blood.”
He noted that all candidates fill out an expense forms with bills of expenditure which all fall within the $50,000 limit.
In this regard, Masson said the ROP Act is limited in that it does not take into account the expenses of the party during an election.
“The reality that political parties through whom monies can be channelled are not also required to submit financial statements to a supervising authority just as candidates are required to do, discloses a major loophole in the law,” he said.
Masson believes political parties should come under the purview of the Integrity Commission.
“In order to preserve the integrity of the system while at the same time acknowledging that agencies or individuals external to the party may contribute funds towards its activities, it would seem that to satisfy any criterion of transparency requires a disclosure of the source of funds, especially so in the case of significant donations or contributions.
“Financial statements of both political parties and candidates should therefore include naming of the source of funds,” he added.
Masson, who is in his eighth year as EBC chairman, said he has met with the political parties to discuss the proposed changes to campaign reform legislation.
“All this time nothing has been done. But something is being done now,” he said.
