With billions potentially flowing through Jamaica’s election system, public calls are mounting for greater transparency in political campaign financing. While legislation exists to regulate donations and enable partial state funding, loopholes and delays in enforcement have left the process opaque. Both major parties have acknowledged the need for reform, but critics argue that real change requires bold action — starting with full disclosure of donors and campaign spending. As the election period unfolds, pressure is building for lawmakers to strengthen the system and protect Jamaica’s democracy.

Name party funders

Jamaica Gleaner/23 May 2025

IF HORACE Chang, the general secretary of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), were to remind himself, he would discover that legislation for partial state funding of election campaigns already exists.

It just hasn’t been promulgated. And like the parts of the same law covering the disclosure campaign finance donations, it is full of loopholes.

The good news for Dr Chang, who is also the national security minister, and Peter Bunting, an opposition senator and former general secretary of the People’s National Party (PNP), is that it is readily in the gift of Parliament to fix the laws and for the government to bring them into force.

Whiny pleadings by the government that taxpayers will be unwelcoming of suggestions that they pay for campaigns, and the failure of the Opposition to robustly push for transparent party financing rules, may well suggest that the political class remains largely satisfied with the opaque arrangements they put in place.

Although the voting date has not been announced, Jamaica is officially in election campaign period, starting March 7, or “the day immediately following the last day of the period of 54 months from the commencement of the term of government”. Put another way, unless an election is called earlier, the “campaign period” starts six months before the government’s term ends, and runs until the vote is held.

The significance of the campaign period is that during this time a political party is allowed to raise, and spend, up to J$630 million on its election activities. Separately, a party’s candidates can raise a further J$945 million for their personal campaigns, assuming that party fielded candidates in the 63 parliamentary constituencies.

So, combined, the central party and its candidates could presumably raise, and spend, J$1.575 billion during the designated six-month period. Between them, the JLP and the PNP would be allowed raise J$3.15 billion.

DON’T KNOW

Post-election reporting of campaign donations by the Electoral Commission Jamaica (ECJ) doesn’t suggest the parties reaching near the threshold of their allowable fundraising. But voters don’t know how much they actually raise, or spend, or, critically, who are their donors.

First, while registered political parties are required to file annual audited accounts with the ECJ, those financial statements aren’t public documents. And although the law requires the identities of donors of J$250,000, or more, during the campaign period, be disclosed to the ECJ, that information remains secret with the commission. So, too, are the names of donors who had, or subsequently receive, government contracts.

But an even more gaping loophole is the capacity of the party to engage in pre-campaigning period fundraising and election spending, without regulatory oversight.

As the PNP’S general secretary, Dr Dayton Campbell, said in defending his party’s action in this regard: “We didn’t order (election) paraphernalia to circumvent the laws. We ordered paraphernalia to be ready for an election that we didn’t know when it would be called.”

Essentially, the campaign financing law, as it exists, is a chimera to transparency. There is the opportunity for special interests and deep-pocketed people, who fund parties from the shadows, to have undue influence over election outcomes and control over public policy. This is a danger to democracy.

Dr Chang appreciates that there is potential for problems with the current arrangements, and, expressing a personal view, believes that “public funding” of campaigns may be the answer. But he expects pushbacks.

AS IT IS

He told a forum at this newspaper: “I think with most political parties, the leadership has not looked at it because if you mentioned that you spend a couple of millions on political campaigning everybody starts to raise their eyes … We have kept the law as it is.”

The same law provides for the establishment of an election campaign fund (which would receive investible donations from companies, other entities, individuals and the Jamaican diaspora) from which candidates would be refunded up to 40 per cent of their campaign period expenditures, depending on their share of votes in an election and their receipt of a certificate of good conduct.

That regime, however, has not been brought into force. And, as designed, it wouldn’t eliminate shadowy contributions to political parties.

Mr Bunting, who was a member of the government when the finance reporting legislation was being drafted, suggested that it was a heavy lift merely to get the bill to Parliament. The aim, therefore, was not to legislate something that was “too radical”, which politicians might circumvent.

Jamaicans got, instead, something that was supposed to be “fairly easy to comply with”, to be followed, as donors became accustomed to the arrangement, a perfected system.

This newspaper does not agree with that approach – not doing what is right, especially when that is for the protection of democracy.

Mr Bunting, however, says that he is in favour of greater transparency. He should be publicly vocal about it – and insist that his party demand legislative change.

Further, Mr Bunting is wrong to believe that his, or any party, would be at a disadvantage in acting unilaterally in the public disclosure of donations. That party that did that would most likely gain a transparency, anticorruption and pro-democracy premium from voters. That is why the PNP and the JLP should make going the full hog on party financing transparency a platform promise in the coming election.

 

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