Croatia: NGOs to monitor against electoral corruption

Two Croatian NGOs, GONG and Transparency International Croatia, are urging for transparency in the coming electoral campaigns, due to commence on the 3rd of November.

Members of political parties, independent lists and candidates from the national minorities have been asked to declare how much they plan to spend on their campaigns, a requirement that is in fact legally binding. The NGOs have also asked that the source of campaign funds, as well as the lists of donors that contributed to the campaigns, be made public.

Croatian legislation, according to the two organisations, that are committed to fighting corruption and facilitating the democratic process, offers a ?rather inadequate legal solution? and by demanding this information to be made public, a degree of transparency and accountability would at least be guaranteed. This would ?bring Croatia closer to democratic practices in developed countries?, say the two organizations

National media have also been invited to publish the amount of money that campaigners have spent on advertising on the T.V and newspapers. The NGOs have promised to monitor the cost and spending of all campaigners and to keep the public informed throughout the campaign.

More info:
www.transparency.hr
www.gong.hr