Digital Solutions for Political Finance Reporting & Disclosure Sam van der Staak, International IDEA Define online systems Make distinction between web-based and software-based

About International IDEA The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance is the only global intergovernmental organization with a direct mandate to support democracy worldwide 30 Member States on 6 continents; Member States are the owners of the Institute and provide strategic directions with regards to its budget, work plans.

Offices and Member States

Do political parties have to report regularly on their finances? * Source: International IDEA Political Finance database

Is information in reports from political parties and/or candidates to be made public? * Source: International IDEA Political Finance database

What are Digital solutions for Political finance reporting/disclosure? Online (or software) reporting of income & expenditure by political parties. Online disclosure of income & expenditure of political parties.

Online reporting

Estonia Present the examples from Sweden and Estonia of reporting forms. Exercise 5. Reporting as a party and searching data as a user (20 minutes) Based on the reporting forms distributed to your group, identify which headings would be relevant for the case of your country according to your national reporting norms. Look at the reporting manuals if clarification is necessary (10 minutes). Present in plenary (10 minutes)

Added value Saves times (both for oversight agencies and parties/candidates) Comprehensive records all in one place More accurate data Aid verification efforts Greater public transparency and accountability of online disclosure

“In the anticorruption arena, the real value of open data lies in the ability to interconnect multiple datasets to discern patterns and expose signs of corruption” Stanford Social Innovation Review (2017), Data Disrupts Corruption, Carlos Santiso & Ben Roseth, Spring 2017

Good disclosure site User friendly Accesible Searchable Comparable Downloadable Timely Detailed

US disclosure of income

Brexit: donations

Brexit: spending

Political Finance Online Reporting and Disclosure Systems around the world Web-based systems: Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, India, Lithuania, Mexico, Norway, UK Software-based systems: Argentina, Canada, Sweden, USA Trend: Almost all of these systems built within last ten years, several in the last couple of years.

France, ODIHR election report

Why now Increasing public demand for transparency of office bearers. Rising technological access. Pressure from alternative sources to reveal private finance (e.g. Panama papers).

Impact Academic: correlation between transparency requirements of reporting and disclosure, and lower levels of perceived corruption Anecdotal: increased scrutiny of PF data by civil society and media. Related fields: business owners declared more income when tax returns became searchable online.

International IDEA Support International IDEA can provide further support to CEC upon their request in the forthcoming months on the following topics or others identified by the agency: Feasibility study Facilitation of the strategic planning of the disclosure system Advice with data mapping Reporting template design Regulation design Drafting of user manuals and training materials Training of trainers Multi-stakeholder dialogue, including oversight agency, political parties, CSOs etc. Peer exchange

Questions & Answers Sam van der Staak Senior Programma Manager, Wider Europe Programme International IDEA E: S.vanderstaak@idea.int @SamvanderStaak

Examples of Civil Society Disclosure Databases Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, India, Italy, Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA

Examples of Political Party Disclosure websites 24 24