LIMITED FUNDS FOR ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS PROPOSED AT INT. CONFERENCE

BRIJUNI, Oct 16 (Hina) - At the end of a three-day international conference of an association of central and eastern European countries' election officials on the island of Brijuni on Tuesday, all member-countries of this society were advised to limit funds which could be spent for electoral campaigns. During the conference focusing on the transparent financing of campaigns in the run-up to elections, experts and members of electoral commissions from 20 countries cautioned that illicit financing of electoral campaigns could substantially change the balance of political forces, which then could not fully reflect the will of the electorate. They also agreed that the issue of restrictions in the funds for electoral campaigns could be "riddled with Constitutional booby traps", as financial limits might be used as a pretext for bids to restrict the freedom of speech and fair ballots. In addition to the limited costs of the electoral campaign, it is important that all donations and funds raised for political parties and candidates be made public and carefully controlled, participants in the conference said. They also concluded that so far no ideal model for the financing of electoral campaigns had been found and that political parties had succeeded in finding loopholes in existent ones. (hina) sb ms