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2007 Assessment

Thailand: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Thailand: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Political Financing
Indicators		Score
20	Are there regulations governing political financing?	86
21	Are the regulations governing political financing effective?	17
22	Can citizens access records related to political financing?	67

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are there regulations governing political financing?

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

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Election Commission of Thailand Announcement: Contribution Rule and Procedure to Political Parties, June 15, 1998, No.7 [ LINK ]

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

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Organic Act on Political Parties, B.E. 2541 (1998), Section 52 and 53

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

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Organic Act on Political Parties, B.E. 2541 (1998), Section 52 - 55

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

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Organic Act on The Election of Members of the House of Representatives and Senators, B.E. 2541 (1998), Section 41

Organic Act on Political Parties, B.E. 2541 (1998), Section 44.

[ LINK ]

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

Score:

YES

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

Comments:

References: Organic Act on Political Parties, B.E. 2541 (1998), Chapter 3, Part 1

[ LINK ]

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

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the law, the Elections Commission set up the rules for the accounting system of political parties. The Elections Commission has discretion with regard to the independent auditing of the finances of political parties.

References: Organic Act on The Election of Members of the House of Representatives and Senators, B.E. 2541 (1998)

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

Score:

YES

Comments: The agency is the Elections Commission.

References: Organic Act on The Election Commission, B.E. 2541 (1998)

Organic Act on The Election of Members of the House of Representatives and Senators, B.E. 2541 (1998)

Organic Act on Political Parties, B.E. 2541 (1998)

Are the regulations governing political financing effective?

21a: In practice, the limits on individual donations to candidates and political parties are effective in regulating an individual's ability to financially support a candidate or political party.

Score:

100

Comments: I believe it is impossible to uncover whether the donor has given more financial support to the political party and candidate than stipulated publicly.

References: Telephone interview with an Election Commission Official, Political Party Affairs, Election Commission Office, Sept. 5, 2007

21b: In practice, the limits on corporate donations to candidates and political parties are effective in regulating a company's ability to financially support a candidate or political party.

Score:

100

Comments: I believe it is impossible to uncover whether the donor has given more financial support to the political party and candidate than stipulated publicly.

References: Telephone interview with Election Commission official, Political Party Affairs, Election Commission Office, Sept. 5, 2007

21c: 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: Most election corruption usually occurs in undeveloped areas.

References: An election canvasser, Aug, 29, 2007, Bangkok.(Unnamed)

21d: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring political financing independently initiates investigations.

Score:

100

Comments: Organic Law on Elections Commission gives power to the Election Commission (EC) members to initiate investigations. In practice, the EC does not have enough staff to do so. The EC uses the police to carry out the investigations according to the rules laid out by the EC.

References: Telephone interview with Election Commission official, Political Party Affairs, Election Commission Office, Sept. 5, 2007

21e: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring political financing imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: Election Commission of Thailand can revoke offenders' right to run in an election only. The difficulty of finding legal evidence to convict the violators is the reason why none has been penalized. The Election Commission's neutrality is also being questioned by many Thais.

References: Telephone interview with Election Commission official, Political Party Affairs, Election Commission Office, Sept. 5, 2007

21f: In practice, contributions to political parties and candidates are audited.

Score:

100

Comments: There were no elections during the period under investigation and no auditing is required by law.

References: Telephone interview with Election Commission official, Political Party Affairs, Election Commission Office, Sept. 5, 2007

Can citizens access records related to political financing?

22a: In practice, political parties and candidates disclose data relating to financial support and expenditures within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Some political parties delayed their disclosure of their financial support.

References: Telephone interview with Election Commission official, Political Party Affairs, Election Commission Office, Sept. 5, 2007

22b: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of political parties and candidates within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: This information can be obtained from the library of the Election Commission Office.

References: Telephone interview with Election Commission Official, Political Party Affairs, Election Commission Office, Sept. 5, 2007

22c: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of political parties and candidates at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no charge for the information, but requesters have to pay their own travelling costs.

References: Telephone interview with Election Commission official, Political Party Affairs, Election Commission Office, Sept. 5, 2007

Peer Review Comments: I think there are alot of other costs to getting this information as you will probably not get it the first time you ask.