On April 18th, Transparency Maldives, in association with the Student Union of Faculty of Shari’ah and Law at the Maldives National University, held an open discussion forum on Money in politics. More than 40 law students participated in the discussion, held at the University. The discussion was part of an ongoing event-series named Legal Talks organized by the Student Union that brings together law students for debate and dialogue on various issues of pertinence.
Transparency Maldives collaborated with the Student Union in an effort to broaden its outreach to the general public and advocate for reform in the area of political financing, through grassroots demand. The current advocacy work is part of the Crinis Project, a research and advocacy project on political financing carried out by Transparency Maldives, with funding from the British Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Crinis Project was developed by Transparency International and the Carter Center in 2006-2007, and has been used as a diagnostic and advocacy tool on political financing in several countries across the globe.
Transparency Maldives conducted the research and published the report in January 2012 and can be download here.The report highlights areas for reforming the legal framework and practices associated with political financing and provides recommendations for stakeholders on improving transparency and accountability in this area.
The discussion forum at the University examined the dynamics between political financing, vested interests, and corruption; and gave way to a fruitful dialogue and commentary on this critical issue of political financing.