Page 15 - IB FEB 2018

Politics

Fiji election funding woes income of US$157,960 and expenses of
US$55,034. SODELPA recorded donations
of US$41,357.
The National Federation Party managed
variety of sources,” Nand said. to save US$1807after recording an income
The removal of corporate donations, in of US$49,828 and spending US$24,182.
Nand’s view is restrictive to political party The party received US$26,907 in dona-
funding. tions.
“In Fiji corporate donations had been a The newly registered Unity Fiji has a
traditional source of funding for most par- huge task ahead to raise funds since they
By Anish Chand
ties. There are not many rich individuals in will be starting from scratch.
a position to make meaningful donations. Party Leader Savenaca Narube is esti-
IF Fiji’s 2018 general election was a In the general elections of 2014, smaller mating they will need $1m (US$499,000)
business, the voters would be parties complained on their inability to for the elections.
the ones financing democracy. raise sufficient funds to compete with the “We expect that marketing, promotion,
Fiji’s election laws regulate political bigger parties when it came to advertising and campaigning to make up at least 70%
party financing, both during and outside in the media. There was a clear disparity of our total budget and in our view, the law
of election periods, putting an emphasis evident where one party had the lion’s is too restrictive to allow political parties
on individual contributions. share of advertisements compared to all to diversify its source of funds and we
Implemented in January 2013, the others,” he said. fully support transparency of the sources
Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, The responsibility of enforcing the 2013 of fund.”
Funding and Disclosures) Decree sets out Decree falls on the shoulders of the Regis- Narube, a former Governor of the Re-
a string of requirements that all political trar of Political Parties and the Supervisor serve Bank of Fiji is confident people will
parties have to adhere to when it comes of Elections Mohammed Saneem. support them in fundraising activities.
to financing elections. “All registered political parties are re- “We will comply fully with the require-
The Electoral (Political Parties Registra- quired to submit their audited accounts ments of the law and we will review the
tion) Regulations of 1991 was replaced as this is a requirement under section 26 law when we form government,” he
by the 2013 Decree brought in to ensure of the Political Parties (Registration, Con- added.
political parties were accountable and duct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013 The National Federation Party also has
transparent when it came to collecting and the Office of the Registrar of Political reservations on laws that govern political
funds, spending money and keeping Parties is required by law to receive the party funding. The party confirms they
proper accounts of all monies received. accounts from all registered parties and spent $500000 (US$249,139) in the 2014
The 2013 decree only allows that po- publish them within three months after the elections and they expect the figure to rise.
litical parties be funded by membership end of each financial year,” said Moham- “We do not have a fixed budget. Ideally,
fees and contributions from individual. med Saneem. we would love to have a budget of $1m
These individual donations cannot exceed Different political parties have different but realistically we are dependent on what
$10000 (US$4,900) per person. year end dates for financial reporting and we can raise from the everyday person
The law requires that all sources of all of them have until 31 March 2018 to who believes in the ideas we present to
st
funding must be disclosed. submit their 2017 accounts. take Fiji forward,” said party leader Dr
Additionally, no funding may come from “The deadline by which all parties must Biman Prasad.
foreign governments or non-government submit their audited accounts for the year The party argues the more money they
organisations and companies and they 2017 is 31st March 2018. We will monitor have the more voters they can reach,
also cannot provide services such as that all parties submit within the required adding bulk of the funds is used in media
transport and accommodation free or dis- time as we also have a legal obligation to advertising.
counted advertising of goods and services publish the accounts in the Gazette and in “The inability of corporate organisations
of any kind. the media,” Saneem adds. to provide support to political parties is
All spending on election campaigns In 2017, the One Fiji Party was suspend- limiting because all donations are declared
must be declared and it is the responsi- ed for not submitting their 2016 audited anyway and made public. It is restrictive
bility of Fiji’s Registrar of Political Parties accounts and remain suspended to date. and we have absolute confidence in our
and the Supervisor of Elections, Moham- In May 2017, the Registrar of Political ordinary citizens and workers who have
med Saneem to ensure all political parties Parties had published the 2016 financial and are supporting the party in whatever
adhere to the law on party funding. accounts of all parties that contested the little way they can,” Dr Prasad added.
Fiji’s former Solicitor General Nainen- 2014 general election. SODELPA and FijiFirst parties did not
dra Nand in his assessment of the decree The FijiFirst party showed US$971,700 respond to queries that were sent to them
wrote “this decree borrows heavily from in their bank account. They had declared in regards to funding for the 2018 elec-
the Kenyan Political Parties Act 2011 an income of US$637,800 and expenses tions.
and recites verbatim entire sections of its of US$53,070. The main source of FijiF- The Registrar of Political Parties is
Kenyan counterpart.” irst’s revenue was through donations of asking all political parties to read the law
“In many other jurisdictions State fund- US$396,141 and US$239,176 given by and adhere to them in the lead-up to the
ing is available to political parties, in Fiji the Parliament of Fiji for its official works. 2018 polls.
there is no such funding available and The Social Democratic Liberal Party had
parties rely heavily on donations from a US$35,380 in the bank after declaring an r achandftv@gmail.com

Islands Business, February 2018 15