Funding political parties promotes democracy

In Africa, where political parties exist in hard economic hardships, financing of all political parties is critical factors for the success of multiparty democracy.

Analysts argue that where African nations are attempting democratisation, political party funding is important for two reasons, namely:

“The widespread perception in some societies that the ruling party uses State funds to support its activities, to the disadvantage of opposition parties which do not have access to such resources; and

“The reality that many African societies lack a strong private economy, meaning that opposition political parties cannot rely on contributions from wealthy supporters to make up for any resource advantage which the ruling party may have.”

That will result in the opposition parties enjoying state support if they are to compete on a relatively equal footing with the ruling party or other parties with considerable private funding.
Political parties may raise funds from private sources, such as membership fees, subscriptions and contributions, donations by individuals or corporations, economic activities (such as establishing party newspaper/s or forming profit making companies), and loans. In some cases foreign funding makes political parties survive. Since the introduction of the Political Parties (Finance) Act [Chapter 2:11] in 2001 is illegal in Zimbabwe to receive foreign funding.

It is not clear if there are parties still receiving foreign funding.
Given that foreign funding is not allowed, public funding becomes one of the ways a political party can remain afloat.

In a paper called “The Regulation of Political Parties in Zimbabwe: Registration, Finance and Other Support”, ZESN suggests that the relative absence of public funding in respect of emerging multiparty democracies in Africa is a reflection of the extent to which the transition programmes towards multiparty democracy are directed and dominated by ‘incumbent authoritarian rulers’ who have no shortage of financial resources. As far as such rulers and their ruling parties are concerned, public funding of political parties, which also benefits the opposition parties, would amount to propping up the opposition while eroding the advantages that incumbency confers.

Zimbabwe political parties get public funding if they receive at least 5 per cent of votes cast in a general election meaning that since 2008 only Zanu PF and MDC formations benefit.

In SADC, political parties in parliament in Angola, Namibia and South Africa get public funds.

While in Malawi political parties benefit from public funding if they receive more than 10 percent of the vote in an election.

Lesotho government funds political parties to cover campaign expenses, while in Mozambique, one-third of the public funding is allocated to presidential candidates, one-third to parties in Parliament in proportion to their seats, and one-third to parties fielding candidates for Parliament in proportion the number of candidates fielded. Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius and Zambia do not fund political parties. In Tanzania, public funding of political parties was abolished in 2000.

Is the current situation in Zimbabwe good in the advancement of multi-party democracy?

Voter education key ahead of elections

With referendum and elections coming this year, it is important that there is an improvement of access to information for Zimbabweans so that they effectively exercise their right to vote and make informed choices on the constitution and candidates they want.

Among things which are critical to make informed decisions include: voter registration information; that is requirements to register to vote and where to register and polling stations.
Zimbabweans need to inspect the voters roll to check if their names appear and to ensure that they are entered correctly.

The Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) Act prohibits civil society organizations from providing voter education to citizens unless they are accredited by the Commission. Hence according to the Act, ZEC has the mandate to conduct voter education. It is heartening to note that last year, the commission invited willing civil society organisations to apply to provide voter education to augment its efforts.   

That was a welcome development given the massive voter education needed in Zimbabwe.

Ideally, civic education is a continuous process, not only provided a few months before elections are conducted as will be the case in Zimbabwe.
This justifies the need for the civic organisations to be involved in conducting voter education in the country.

In the past, ZESN discovered frustrations among some Zimbabweans arose from people being turned away because they tried to vote at the wrong polling station; or did not have the required identification documents. Such incidences can be avoided if there is adequate voter education in the country.

Apparently, voter registration which usually happens ahead of an election has this time been delayed on several occasions.

It was set for commencement early January this year.  But Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the Treasury was taking long to release funds. On the other hand, Prime Minister’s office blamed ZEC for submitting its budget late.

Should voter registration start, there is another hurdle to jump: the Treasury says the country does not have enough funds for the referendum and elections.
ZEC says it needs $200 million to complete constitutional referendum and general elections exercises. This amount includes that for voter registration and education which is about $20 million.

It is therefore important that voter education and registration are provided soon to ensure that all eligible voters participate in the impending elections.

Elections an expensive affair

Contesting in elections is expensive in Zimbabwe making it essential that political parties have funding for them to take part in the polls. Since the current threshold for accessing public funding in Zimbabwe only benefits two MDC formations and ZANU (PF), smaller political parties have to depend on other sources of support for survival.

The Political Parties (Finance) Act [Chapter 2:11] of 2001 makes it illegal for parties to receive foreign funding; hence they have limited avenues to source funds for their activities.
Even parties receiving public funding fund raise privately to supplement their State grants, and this might include raising funds beyond the limits of the law.

Since Zimbabwe, is new to multiparty democracies, transition programmes meant to promote multiparty democracy should be encouraged.

In most countries where multiparty democracy is a new phenomenon incumbents use shortage of financial resources as an excuse to deprive small parties funding. “As far as such rulers and their ruling parties are concerned, public funding of political parties, which also benefits the opposition parties, would amount to propping up the opposition while eroding the advantages that incumbency confers,” quoted from a ZESN position paper entitled “The Regulation of Political Parties in Zimbabwe: Registration, Finance and Other Support.”

 “Healthy political parties are often well-resourced political machines and the more resourced they are, the more they are likely to be in electoral contests”, says ZESN.

He said fortunes of parties are largely determined by the resources they have; their capacity to sponsor candidates and organise effective campaigns is largely determined by access to resources.

Democracy does not come cheaply and therefore, state funding is needed for all political parties in countries with fragile democracies where the governing party has inexhaustible access to state resources that it routinely abuses to bolster its party activities and to campaign in elections against enfeebled opposition parties.

Public funding of political parties contributes to the consolidation of democracy in the following ways, among others:

·         Creates relatively equal opportunities for political parties to set up their structures and run election campaigns;

·         Encourages all political players to channel their ambitions through the democratic process

·         Promotes relatively equal strength for political parties and offers the populace choices.

·         Voting is a constitutional right so the state must subsidise the assertion of that right.

·         The need to reduce the advantage some parties might have by receiving far greater support than others,

·         To avoid reliance on foreign funding by political parties, which is in any event prohibited in many countries; and

·         To discourage political parties from resorting to unlawful means of mobilising financial resources.

In 1997 after the United Parties took the government to court, the Supreme Court ruled that public funding of political parties was acceptable as it unhindered freedom of political expression essential to the proper functioning of a democratic system.