Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

The conference was organized by NIMD in cooperation with the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD) and the OSCE office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The aim of the conference was to strengthen Georgian political parties’ expertise in effective methods of fundraising and political financing. To this end the leaders of the six major Georgian parties as well as local and international experts shared their views and experiences. They had the opportunity to discuss various models of political party funding and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Georgian system in a multiparty setting.

Mr. Ruud Koole, former chairman of the Dutch Social-Democratic Party (PvdA), contributed to the meeting with a lecture on European regulations and practices. He emphasized that political finance regulations always need to find a balance between the 'pillar of freedom' and the 'pillar of equality': 'Regulating of the political finances starts with the limiting of freedom. Therefore freedom, one of the political pillars, will be limited to a certain extent. But if you don't regulate at all you are limiting equality, the other pillar of democracy,” said Mr. Koole in the daily newspaper Georgia Today.

Mr. Ghia Nodia, director of CIPDD, focused on the Georgian system of party funding. According to Mr. Nodia, the Georgian political parties should not depend on public funding only. The Georgian political parties receive subsidies based on the last election results. However, most parties agree that annual financial contributions from the state budget are relatively minor and are not sufficient for proper functioning of a political institution. The Georgian political parties largely depend on financial contributions from their members. Practical advice on effective fundraising campaigns was therefore well received by the Georgian parties.

The conference on political party funding and fundraising is part of the joint NIMD-CDPPP programme 2006-2008 Political Institutions in Georgia. The programme will organize follow-up meetings during this and next year.