Money in politics
The fundamental of a true democracy is based on the premise of “One Man, One Vote”. Political parties within a democracy are used to provide a framework for different and diverse political opinions. The parties help to collectively represent these various interests. In order to perform this task which includes mobilizing support, communicating issues, undertaking research, implementing policies, maintaining party offices etc. etc. requires money. Money can however, be used to distort the political process. It can be used to influence political outcomes and even gain exemption from political prosecution. The objective of transparency in the political process of nominations of candidates, voting for these candidates and even party policy can be high jacked by illegal financing activities. One of the most audacious recorded attempts has been that of the ‘Medellin’ cartel promising to pay all of Colombia’s public debt in return for freedom to conduct its drug trafficking operations. Money can have a corrupting influence in politics by drowning out the voices of the poor and not protecting the interests of the most vulnerable in society.
In such a case, public confidence in the political process is eroded and the prospect of policies to protect the public interest is lost. Here in the Seychelles there has been no concerted attempt to combat this very serious problem. Transparency in political financing is high on the political and legislative agenda of the Opposition Parties leaders of this country. Amid the cries of foul play with regards to political financing the ruling party of the day has made no attempts to resolve the issue. Furthermore, the question of corruption within the political process has never been touched upon at all.
Whilst public funding has been given to political parties in the Seychelles, this should be part of a much broader range of measures and reforms. Such reforms include the full disclosure of private financing, proper use of media resources in educating the public on the role of political parties and also to dissolve misconceptions on political parties financing.
In Seychelles the SPPF as a political party fails to appeal to voters through the development of party platforms. It also suffers from weak institutional capacities; it has therefore turned to vote buying as a means of securing support. This in turn creates competitive election spending, driving up the cost of getting elected. As a result of high campaign costs, the SPPF has become increasingly dependent on moneyed interests and on the abuse of state resources to remain in power. There is no legislation governing the reporting on returns and expenditure of the Inter-lotto agency, the various casinos and amusement centers in operation in Seychelles. These are amongst many other businesses in operation in the Seychelles existing solely through political patronage in return for their financial support of the SPPF. It is also noted that there is wide spread mis-use of corporate entities for sole purpose of illegal financing of politics in the Seychelles.
