Brax wants monitoring of election campaign funding away from Ministry of Justice

Tuija Brax

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Minister of Justice Tuija Brax (Green) says that Finland should seriously consider moving responsibility for elections and the monitoring of election funding away from the Ministry of Justice. In her view, the officials in charge could be from the National Audit Office, for instance.
      At present, the official responsible is the administrative unit of the Ministry of Justice, which also receives notices of election campaign financing.
      Brax said to Helsingin Sanomat that a body outside the Ministry of Justice could be further away from the government parties, and from political influence.
      Next week, Brax will meet the Prime Minister to discuss calls for amendments to legislation on elections and election financing.
      According to the Minister of Justice, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) wants election campaign funding and party financing to be made public, as well as the finances of organisations and foundations with close ties to political parties.
     
The initial reactions of other parties to Brax’s proposals were cautious.
      “If this increases confidence in the system, then why not?” said Taru Tujunen, Party Secretary of the National Coalition Party.
      “On the other hand, I am a bit surprised that the Minister of Justice herself does not have confidence in her own ministry. We have no reason not to have confidence in the inspectors of the campaign finance unit.”
      Social Democratic Party Secretary Maarit Feldt-Ranta feels that a greater problem than the law itself is who monitors it. The most important matter is the prevention of a possible relationship of dependence. “If the sums are considerable, there can be a suspicion over whether or not the support influences decision-making, as has emerged in the case of the Prime Minister.”
     
Centre Party Secretary Jarmo Korhonen also urges a more calm approach. “Thoughts are flying around like birds in a flock of sparrows. Some of them are probably quite good, but I think that they are more indicative of a panic reaction."

More on this subject:
 Prime Minister regards election campaign funding mess as serious
 Business organisations rarely give companies guidance on political contributions

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Members of Parliament revising campaign finance reports (16.5.2008)
  Centre Party MP´s comments spark campaign finance row (15.5.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat