ELECTION CAMPAIGN FINANCE REGULATIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000922

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: ELECTION CAMPAIGN FINANCE REGULATIONS


1. (U) SUMMARY: The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on
March 25, released the regulation on campaign financing for
the August 2009 presidential and provincial council
elections. The regulation limits who can contribute, and
lays out clear guidelines on how candidates must track
incoming and outgoing cash flows. The regulations also
promote transparency by requiring use of the formal banking
sector and require a level playing field for GIRoA resources.
This new regulation is a substantial improvement over its
counterparts for the 2004 and 2005 elections. The as-yet
missing element in the 2009 regulation is an enforcement
mechanism, now under discussion with the newly-formed
Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC). END SUMMARY.

THE ELECTORAL LAW: NOT ENOUGH ON ITS OWN
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2. (U) The current regulation expands on Article 53 of the
Electoral Law, which details electoral offenses. Article 53
details finance-related electoral offenses as: offering or
receiving payment or other benefit for the purpose of
influencing the electoral process; making use of funds
originating from illegal activities; and making use of
foreign funds for the purpose of influencing the electoral
process. Article 53 does not address mechanisms to create a
system for tracking contributions or articulate enforcement
mechanisms.

SPELLING OUT WHO CAN CONTRIBUTE
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3. (U) Under the 2009 regulation, only individual Afghan
citizens and political parties registered with the Ministry
of Justice and endorsing at least one candidate are eligible
to contribute to campaigns. At this time around 100
political parties are registered and more may register before
the election. The regulation treats loans for use in a
campaign as contributions and values donations of goods or
services at the market worth of the gift. The regulation
highlights that any government support or provided public
resources must be equally available to all candidates. It
defines public resources as "funds, materials, equipment,
services, facilities, and property, including paid time and
services provided by public employees or by the people
employed by the government." Candidate security is
specifically not considered a campaign contribution.

REQUIRING CLEAR RECORD KEEPING
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4. (U) The new regulations place significant emphasis on
pushing campaign finance into public view and the formal
banking sector. The IEC will publish the names of
individuals who donate over 50,000 Afs (USD 1057) on the IEC
website to ensure visibility on the source of funding.
Before the campaign period opens on June 16, each candidate
must designate a financial agent to the IEC and open a bank
account specifically for campaign funds. Details of the
account, which cannot overlap with others the candidate may
hold, must be provided to the IEC. Candidates must deposit
monetary contributions exceeding 5000 Afs (USD 105) and pay
expenses over that amount from the account.


5. (U) After voting day, candidates will have up to 30 days
to submit a report tracking all incoming and outgoing funds
used by their campaign. Failure to submit a complete report
is an electoral offense subject to the ECC which may prevent
standing in future elections, but does not specify whether
failure to report will disqualify a victor from taking
office. For contributions over 5000 Afs, reports must note:
1) the actual amount, or for goods and services, market
value; 2) the date of receipt; 3) the name and contact
information of the contributor; 4) the nature of the
contribution. Every expense of more than 5000 Afs must show:
1) the expense amount; 2) the date of payment; 3) an
explanation of the cost; 4) the name and contact information
of the recipient. Information about contributions and
expenses valued at less than 5000 Afs should be provided in a
consolidated report of all such contributions and should be
accompanied by an original logbook. All reports must be
accompanied by receipts.

PROGRESS SINCE 2004, 2005
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6. (U) In 2004, the campaign finance regulation was
introduced late, just prior to the campaign period. For the
2005 elections, the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB)
issued guidelines limiting the amount candidates could spend
during electoral campaigns and requiring candidates to
document and keep a record of all campaign incomes and
expenditures. With some 6000 legislative candidates, the

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JEMB never conducted a systematic review to determine
compliance with the regulation. The JEMB final report on the
2005 elections recommended for greater monitoring, including
random checks, of campaign financing.


STILL MORE WORK TO DO
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7. (SBU) We will continue to work with the IEC and the ECC
on articulating the investigation and enforcement mechanisms
and planning for a transparent assessment process. In any
case, government oversight and regulation of the formal
banking sector requires strengthening in order to ensure a
sound and transparent financial system. Ultimately, the
success of the regulations will lay with how well the ECC
implements a careful review of campaign interactions and how
well the courts enforce the electoral law.
RICCIARDONE