Abdul Latif Books
Subuh Partners for Transparency PFT launched an initiative - the first of its kind in Egypt - to monitor electoral funding and spending in a number of electoral districts, bearing the slogan “Our Voices in Exchange for Your Money”. The Partners for Transparency Foundation (PFT) said that, through the "Our Voices Against Your Money" initiative, it seeks to contribute to achieving the integrity of the upcoming House of Representatives elections by opposing the phenomenon of using money to influence the will of the electorate, in addition to developing effective "approaches" and tools that can be used. Later on, it expanded to strengthen the role of civil society organizations in monitoring "electoral financing and spending", and to ensure that candidates and parties adhere to the ruling legal frameworks. The Foundation clarified in a statement today that it will implement the initiative in 5 Egyptian governorates, namely the governorates of Cairo, Fayoum, Alexandria, Dakahlia and Port Said. The governorates and departments within each governorate have been selected so as to give a good indication of the nature of funding and financial spending throughout the electoral process, as well as In order to facilitate the process of disseminating findings, recommendations and tools that the initiative will come out with. The statement continued: “In commitment to the principle of transparency, and to involve different community parties in discussing the initiative and its details, Partners for Transparency has proposed a background paper that clarifies the intellectual, legal and methodological framework that you will adhere to in the follow-up process, and the paper includes a detailed explanation of the legislative frameworks and justifications on which the initiative is based, in addition to To present the methodology to be followed, the axes covered in the monitoring process, and the target geographic scope. On his part, Dr. Walaa Jad al-Karim, Director of Partners for Transparency, said that the issue of “electoral financing and spending” is one of the main issues that determine - along with other issues - the integrity of the electoral process, and the extent to which its final results reflect the true will of the electorate. And to what extent was “money” a factor affecting the course of the political process. Gad also indicated that the Foundation adheres in its work to a specific scientific methodology and goes beyond the randomness of follow-up processes. Therefore, the aforementioned “background paper” has been presented, stressing that “Partners for Transparency” PFT welcomes any observations or proposals in favor of “improving the methodology used”. “. It is noteworthy that PFT is a non-governmental organization, recognized in accordance with the provisions of Egyptian law, that takes into account independence and neutrality "politically" and "ideologically", and works within the framework of helping society to consolidate and apply the values and practices of integrity, transparency, accountability, in order to achieve development. Comprehensive "humanity", respect for human rights, and the building of a system of good governance.
