Integrity Watch Report: Several Parties, Candidate Violate Campaign Financing Regulation

Integrity Watch Liberia has released its initial report on campaign financing for the ensuing 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections, uncovering several discrepancies in that portion of the New Elections Laws of Liberia.
Founded in 2017, IWL is a national civil society organization dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity in governments, politics, and laws. The organization works across all 15 countries of Liberia, but with stronger footprints in the southeast, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Bong, and Lofa Counties.
As part of its work to support and ensure electoral transparency, IWL on September 1, 2023, deployed 32 monitors across the 15 counties to monitor political parties and candidates’ compliance with the National Elections Commission (NEC) Political Party Campaign Finance Regulations. 
In a total of 816 reports from across the country, 179 constitute reports on abuse of state resources, 279 contains issues of contributions and expenditure restrictions, 171 had to do with monitoring expenditures and 187 contain reporting on public disclosures issues.  
Mr. Harold Marvin Aidoo, Executive Director of IWL, indicated at the release of the report that the non-compliance with campaign finance regulations has significant implications for Liberia’s democracy. 
He said finding show that campaign finance regulations are not being followed by candidates and parties. 
According to him, this opens the door for corruption and the influence of money in the political process as candidates and parties could potentially receive illicit funds from organizations seeking to gain undue influence or favors. 
He pointed out that these discrepancies have the propensity to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and erode public trust in our political system.
 “We have documented unfair level playing field among candidates. Wealthy individuals and parties with significant financial resources are outspending their competitors without due cognizance to the NEC campaign finance regulations. This is drowning out the voices of less affluent candidates and could potentially lead to lack of diversity and representation particularly women at the legislature,” said Mr. Aidoo of the report.
He also reported that there is lack of transparency and accountability as campaign finance regulations are designed to promote transparency and accountability in the political process.
 “By requiring candidates and parties to disclose their sources of funding and campaign expenditures, our monitoring has shown a complete lack of transparency and blatant refusal from candidates and parties to disclose information on their expenditures and income sources to our monitors.  We wish to state that when these regulations are not followed and enforced, it increases the risk of illicit activities in our campaign process.” 
Aidoo pointed out that the non-compliance with campaign finance regulations has the potential to undermine the fundamental principles of democracy, such as fair elections, equal representation, and the voice of the people. 
 “When money plays an outsized role in politics, it can distort the will of the electorate, leading to outcomes that do not accurately reflect the preferences of the citizens. This can erode public confidence in the democratic process and weaken the overall legitimacy of the government,” he asserted. 
 “To safeguard Liberia's democracy ladies and gentlemen of the media, it is crucial to enforce campaign finance regulations effectively. This requires strong institutions, independent oversight bodies, and a commitment from political leaders to uphold the integrity of the electoral process. We believe that our partnership with the National Elections Commission (NEC) and the provision of these real-time data will accelerate the enforcement of compliance of Campaign Regulations.”