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2008 Assessment

Lithuania: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Lithuania : Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Political Financing
Indicators		Score
20	Are there regulations governing the financing of political parties?	100
21	Are there regulations governing the financing of individual political candidates?	100
22	Are the regulations governing the political financing of parties effective?	29
23	Are the regulations governing the political financing of individual candidates effective?	35
24	Can citizens access records related to the financing of political parties?	75
25	Can citizens access records related to the financing of individual candidates' campaigns?	83

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are there regulations governing the financing of political parties?

20a: In law, there are regulations governing private contributions to political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Control of Financing of Political Parties and Political Campaigns (litiniu partiju ir politiniu kampaniju finansavimo bei finansavimo kontroles istatymas) (especially Article 10): [ LINK ]

20b: In law, there are limits on individual donations to political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments:

20c: In law, there are limits on corporate donations to political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments:

20d: In law, there are limits on total political party expenditures.

Score:

YES

Comments:

20e: In law, there are requirements for the disclosure of donations to political parties.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there are any requirements mandating the disclosure of financial contributions to political parties. NO: A NO score is earned if there are no requirements mandating the disclosure of contributions to political parties, existing regulations do not require a donor\'s name or amount given, or the regulations allow for anonymous donations.$

Comments:

20f: In law, there are requirements for the independent auditing of the finances and expenditures of political parties.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there is a legal or regulatory requirement for the independent auditing of party finances and expenditures. The auditing is performed by an impartial third-party. NO: A NO score is earned if there are no legal or regulatory requirements for the independent auditing of political parties\' finances and expenditures or if such requirements exist but allow for parties to self-audit.$

Comments:

20g: In law, there is an agency or entity that monitors the financing of political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments:

Are there regulations governing the financing of individual political candidates?

21a: In law, there are regulations governing private contributions to individual political candidates.

Score:

YES

Comments:

21b: In law, there are limits on individual donations to political candidates.

Score:

YES

Comments:

21c: In law, there are limits on corporate donations to individual political candidates.

Score:

YES

Comments:

21d: In law, there are requirements for the disclosure of donations to individual political candidates.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there are any requirements mandating the disclosure of financial contributions to individual political candidates. NO: A NO score is earned if there are no requirements mandating the disclosure of contributions to individual political candidates, existing regulations do not require a donor\'s name or amount given, or the regulations allow for anonymous donations.$

Comments:

21e: In law, there are requirements for the independent auditing of the campaign finances of individual political candidates.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there is a legal or regulatory requirement for the independent auditing of an individual candidate\'s campaign finances and expenditures. The auditing is performed by an impartial third-party. NO: A NO score is earned if there are no legal or regulatory requirements for the independent auditing of an individual candidate\'s campaign finances and expenditures or if such requirements exist but allow for candidates to self-audit.$

Comments: The threshold is rather high at 125,000 litas (US$52,000) and technically applicable only when running presidential elections.

21f: In law, there is an agency or entity that monitors the financing of individual political candidates' campaigns.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there is a domestic agency or set of domestic agencies/entities formally assigned to monitor and enforce laws and regulations around the financing of individual political candidates\' campaigns. A YES score is earned even if the agency/entity is ineffective in practice. NO: A NO score is earned if there is no such agency or entity.$

Comments:

Are the regulations governing the political financing of parties effective?

22a: In practice, the limits on individual donations to political parties are effective in regulating an individual's ability to financially support a political party.

Score:

100

Comments: There are loopholes that allow making donations to third-party groups that advocate on behalf of (or against) a particular party.

There have been cases when, according to records maintained by the state, individuals made donations which exceeded their yearly incomes.

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

22b: In practice, the limits on corporate donations to political parties are effective in regulating a company's ability to financially support a political party.

Score:

100

Comments: The limits may be easily avoided through individuals or other legal persons.

There have been cases when, according to records maintained by the state, individuals made donations which exceeded their yearly incomes.

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

22c: In practice, the limits on total party expenditures are effective in regulating a political party's ability to fund campaigns or politically-related activities.

Score:

100

Comments: Many expenditures could be made outside of the formal limitation system (e.g. informal advertising (TV shows, articles in the journals of lifestyle, etc.) of individual candidates which represent political parties).

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

22d: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring the financing of political parties independently initiates investigations.

Score:

100

Comments: Investigations of the financing of non-ruling political parties occur, but in case of ruling parties investigations of finances is almost immposible.

For example, in 2008 one of political parties with the third largest representation in Parliament has been denied state financial support due of violations of the law on funding of political campaigns.

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

22e: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring the financing of political parties imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: Investigations of the financing of non-ruling political parties occur, but in case of ruling parties investigations of finances is almost impossible.

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

22f: In practice, contributions to political parties are audited.

Score:

100

Comments: Political party finances are audited, but audits are limited due to inadequate auditing standards and because of hidden expenses (particularly in case of political advertising).

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

Are the regulations governing the political financing of individual candidates effective?

23a: In practice, the limits on individual donations to political candidates are effective in regulating an individual's ability to financially support a particular candidate.

Score:

100

Comments: There are loopholes that allow making donations to third-party groups which advocate on behalf of (or against) a particular political candidate.

There have been cases when, according to records maintained by the state, individuals made donations which exceeded their yearly incomes.

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

23b: In practice, the limits on corporate donations to individual candidates are effective in regulating a company's ability to financially support a candidate.

Score:

100

Comments: The limits may be easily avoided through individuals or other legal persons.

There have been cases when, according to records maintained by the state, individuals made donations which exceeded their yearly incomes.

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

23c: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring the financing of individual candidates' campaigns independently initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The agency or entity aggressively starts investigations into allegations of wrong doing with respect to the financing of individual candidates\' campaigns. The agency is fair in its application of this power. 50 Score Criteria: The agency or entity will start investigations, but often relies on external pressure to set priorities, or has limited effectiveness when investigating. The agency, thought limited in effectiveness, is still fair in its application of power. 0 Score Criteria: The agency or entity rarely investigates on its own, or the agency or entity is partisan in its application of this power.$

Comments: It happens in the case of individual candidates representing nonsignificant political parties, but in the case of significant ones it is almost impossible.

References: Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

23d: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring the financing of individual candidates' campaigns imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: It happens in cases of individual candidates representing nonsignificant political parties, but in cases of significant ones it is almost impossible.

References: Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

23e: In practice, the finances of individual candidates' campaigns are audited.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The finances of individual candidates\' campaigns are regularly audited using generally accepted auditing practices. 50 Score Criteria: The finances of individual candidates\' campaigns are audited, but audits are limited in some way, such as using inadequate auditing standards, or the presence of exceptions to disclosed contributions. 0 Score Criteria: The finances of individual candidates\' campaigns are not audited, or the audits performed have no value in tracking contributions. Audits may be performed by entities known to be partisan or biased in their practices.$

Comments: Finances are audited, but audits are limited due to inadequate auditing standards and because of hidden expenses (particularly in case of political advertising on mass media).

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

Can citizens access records related to the financing of political parties?

24a: In practice, political parties disclose data relating to financial support and expenditures within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

24b: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of political parties within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

24c: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of political parties at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

Can citizens access records related to the financing of individual candidates' campaigns?

25a: In practice, individual political candidates disclose data relating to financial support and expenditures within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Indre Makaraityte, journalist, weekly newspaper Atgimimas (Vilnius, Sept. 17, 2008)

25b: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of individual candidates (their campaign revenues and expenditures) within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

25c: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of individual candidates (their campaign revenues and expenditures) at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)