By Stephen Cummings
Caribbean Net News Trinidad and Tobago Correspondent
Email: stephen@caribbeannetnews.com
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: Acting Chairman of the Transparency Institute in Trinidad, Victor Hart says they will soon be making an official call on all political parties in the country to establish a policy position regarding the ways in which they are funded prior to a general election.
The institute continues to express concern about what it says is a lack of transparency in political financing, which its says poses serious problems for countries such as Trinidad and Tobago.
According to the Institute, a study done in some eight Latin American countries has shown clear cause for concern regarding the way political parties are funded.
Hart, in speaking with local journalists, said political parties in Trinidad and Tobago will be called upon to establish guidelines that would provide for some level of checking on their source of funding.
"Our goal is not to criticise but to help democratic governments to do better. To achieve equitable participation for voters, we must prevent wealthy candidates and parties from deriving undue advantage from their superior resources and assure that donors do not unduly influence the decisions of elected officials," the institute is quoted as saying in a statement. |
