Alan Matbaacılık, İstanbul, 2016
Political parties are considered the “nerve centre of democracy”. There is a relation
between the extent to which the campaign financing of political parties and candidates
is transparent and accountable and the conduct of elections in a free, fair and
egalitarian environment. It is important and required to regulate the financing of
politics to ensure equality of opportunities as sine qua non of democratic political
competition. The following are priority issues to address if we are ever to put into
practice the principles of transparency and accountability: public disclosure of media
and campaign expenditures along with funding sources; disclosure of information
on service agreements between political parties and media entities, and a clear description
of oversight and sanctioning mechanisms applicable to irregularities. In this
context, this report discusses the extent to which the principles of transparency and
accountability in political financing in Turkey are ensured, issue areas, and solution
proposals.