To strengthen and enhance political campaign finance regulation, Integrity Watch Liberia has launched a two-day training for 40 political parties in Monrovia. Integrity Watch Liberia (IWL) is a civil society organization dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and law.
Speaking at the start of the training, held on iCampus, Carey Street on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, the Executive Director of the institution, Harold Aidoo, said there has been a series of discussions bordering on challenges faced in abiding by the political campaign finance regulation.
“We hope that this training will serve as another enforcement to enhance your capacity as political parties. Know what the regulations say and how to fill many of the financial forms that we are supposed to submit in compliance with the law against the Constitutional requirements and the regulation requirements that require all political parties to conform to certain norms and regulations as part of the election’s requirements,” he said.
Aidoo expressed excitement over the receptive participation of the invited political parties to ensure that they all follow the political campaign finance regulation during election seasons across the country, and promote transparency and accountability.
The renowned civil society actor emphasized that it is his expectation that the two-day training will serve as an important platform where many will know how to fill in many of the financial forms and the requirements expected of all political parties in the country.
Harold Aidoo thanked the participants for their commitment in the process and expressed optimism that the gathering will yield a fruitful result.
According to him, the training is being facilitated by well-trained financial experts who are determined to broaden the scope of the parties’ officials attending the event and put into practice the knowledge gained.
“Even though the elections are not yet over, we’re hoping that the knowledge will help to strengthen our political institutions so that we can conform and comply with many of the laws and regulations that are governing how political parties are supposed to perform in terms of their finances and their reporting requirements,” Harold Aidoo observed.
Day one covered topics such as introduction to campaign finance regulation, its objectives, key principles of campaign finance regulation, overview of the Constitutional provision for campaign finance regulation and disclosure and reporting requirement, among others.