Acta Universitatis Danubius. Relationes Internationales, Vol 11, No 1 (2018)

Abstract

Functioning of political parties and electoral campaigns is determined by internal legal norms and by international acts. Legal regulation of political party financing and electoral campaigns is one of the key factors to ensure a fair and objective electoral process. These funding within a country must be transparent, regardless of the level of social, political, economic, cultural development, etc. Western Balkan countries have regulated this issue in their own way. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the relationship between public and private financing of political parties and electoral campaigns is not clearly regulated. On the other hand, in Croatia, the expenditures of services in electoral campaigns are not clearly regulated. In Kosovo, the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns is made by the political force that the political party had in the previous elections. In Serbia to cover election spending, the state allocates the sum of 0.07%. In Montenegro and Macedonia, these funds are more precise. Otherwise, in Albania the funding of electoral campaigns is determined by the Electoral Code. The main purpose of this research is to analyze and evaluate political parties and electoral campaigns in Western Baltic. The methodology used in this study is comparative research as it covers countries in Balkans.  Through this research we conclude that state bodies in these countries need to do more to increase the transparency of these financial expenses and punish those who exceed legal limits.