ODIHR and Transparency International join forces to combat political corruption

On 8 May, ODIHR and Transparency International (TI) launched a platform bringing together international organizations, civil society and academia to combat political corruption by building a shared awareness of the concept and its practice, and at the same time increasing the ability of TI offices across the OSCE region to analyse, monitor, and investigate real and potential cases.

“The public perception of widespread corruption among political officials is often at the core of growing dissatisfaction with democratic institutions,” said ODIHR Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir. “Unfortunately, we observe political corruption to a greater or lesser degree in a number of countries across the OSCE region. The platform we are launching today together with Transparency International will play an important role in both raising awareness of the problem and doing more to counteract it.”

“Political corruption can have very different meanings, but they all share the same root: The very conflictive relationship between money and politics,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International. “Rules are needed, but they are not enough. We need to strengthen enforcement, oversight, monitoring and sanctioning, and to understand that rules are contextual and need to have a goal.”

A broader understanding of political corruption and its key forms will ultimately lead to more effective implementation of anti-corruption initiatives and the promotion of reforms across the OSCE region. At the same time, it will also act as an early-warning mechanism if political corruption becomes an issue in any particular country.

The launch event was the first day of a two-and-a-half-day boot camp on combating political corruption. It covered issues including money in politics, the integrity of electoral processes, and abuse of state resources and electoral integrity. It also included case studies from a number of OSCE participating states. As well as giving ODIHR and TI the opportunity to promote a comprehensive understanding of political corruption, the platform established today will help develop future paths of co-operation between the two organizations.

“Political corruption affects the regular functioning of democratic institutions, ultimately eroding the confidence of citizens in a democracy,” said Gianluca Esposito, Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). “We are glad to work with ODIHR in its important work in fighting political forms of corruption and promoting public integrity across the OSCE region.”