Political finance regulation is one of the greatest challenges faced by countries aiming to enhance transparency and accountability in elections.
To help election officials in the Latin American and Caribbean regions share their experiences and knowledge in campaign finance, IFES partnered with the Mexican Electoral Federal Institute (IFE) on a first-of-its-kind workshop for Latin American election management bodies.
The gathering brought together participants and senior electoral officers from 13 Latin American countries to Mexico City from 3-7 October. Countries represented included Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
Senior electoral officers responsible for political parties and campaign finance management and oversight were able to share best practices and discuss day-to-day challenges faced in overseeing party and campaign finance with their Latin American colleagues.
Rafael Lopez-Pintor, IFES Senior Election Cycle Specialist, was a presenter and facilitator of several working groups. During his presentation, Lopez-Pintor provided an overview of the regulation and control of political campaign finance drawing from his global experience in the administration of elections.
The training was structured around four main areas of political finance:
- Importance of democracy in regulation and oversight of political party and campaign finance
- Objectives, challenges and modalities of public and private funding of political parties and campaigns
- Media access and equal press coverage in electoral competition
- Institutional responsibilities and instruments for oversight and accountability of political finance
The workshops began with a presentation on each topic and were followed with Q&A sessions, group discussions and country-specific discussions. Other presenters and facilitators included Delia Ferreira (UNDP), Carlos Navarro and Alfredo Cristalinas (IFE). Both international experts, Lopez-Pintor and Ferreira, were interviewed about campaign finance by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México live television program, Voices of Democracy.
A workshop paper with conclusions and individual initiatives for future developments was produced and distributed to all attendees. Follow-up mechanisms were discussed to allow participants to continue their exchange through the Electoral Knowledge Network (ACE) Practitioner’s Network.
Mexico’s IFE and Electoral Federal Court (TEPJF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also co-sponsored the specialized training workshop. This session was one of the training activities of the International Center for Training and Electoral Research (CICIE) at IFE. The CICIE carries out professional training and research programs in electoral administration targeted at strengthening the capacities of electoral authorities and decision makers.