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The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has urged lawmakers and political parties to reform laws governing political financing in order to reduce the influence of money on elections, which has essentially prevented the majority of people from exercising their right to vote.

Fafen asked the parliamentary political parties to:

to reach an agreement on crucial election reforms with those outside

Includes those necessary to control the use of campaign contributions.

According to Fafen, the Elections Act of 2017"s lax regulations on political financing promoted excessive spending during the 2018 general election as well as following by-elections and local government elections.

To increase public trust in the democratic system, it was stated, there must be significant improvements to the laws governing campaign spending and political financing.

Fafen saw the election commission"s recent ruling in the prohibited funding case as a wake-up call for tightening legal and regulatory oversight of party accounts and funding sources, as well as provisions requiring the Commission to review the parties" audited financial statements on a yearly basis.

Political parties must be more careful about their accounts and funding sources by conducting timely scrutiny.

Fafen also advocated for prompt review of the assets and liabilities reported by members of parliament and provincial assembly, as well as tightening the legal framework to control the costs paid during an election by both competing candidates and political parties.

Withholding information or making fraudulent or significantly erroneous submissions should be illegal and punishable by sanctions, including disqualification.

According to Fafen, the Elections Act of 2017"s current provisions do not properly define election expenses or offer any implications for someone incurring election expenses on behalf of a candidate without that candidate"s consent.

While the legislation sets a cap on the amount that running candidates may spend on elections, political parties are not subject to the same restrictions, making it challenging for the Commission to monitor any excessive campaign spending.

Fafen proposed adding sections to the law to clearly define the permitted campaign spending by political parties, the highest limit for such expenditures, and other measures to control campaign financing by political parties, expense, the process for reporting it and checking its returns, and the consequences of filing taxes late, not filing them at all, or making false statements.

The election network advocated defining the time frame during which any expense incurred would be regarded as an election expense in the Elections Act, 2017. Additionally, it should be against the law to incur expenses on behalf of a candidate without their express consent.

The returned candidate should be disqualified for filing misleading election expense reports or concealing any information.

Financial disclosures made by members and political parties should be required by law to be posted on ECP"s website for open public scrutiny.

Additional regulations to limit the use of money in elections may be considered by parliament and political parties, including a complete ban on election day campaigning, public rallies, and the use of promotional materials like panaflexes and hoardings, as well as steps to limit vote-buying and social media campaigning.

The modest campaigns would provide average folks with limited resources

a source of income to run for office, particularly for women, people with disabilities, and transgender people who are already on the periphery of society and the economy.