The political financial wing of the Election Commission, it seems, has now jogged into action after lying in a state of suspended animation for quite long. Reportedly it intends to start digging deep into the manner in which the various political parties have been raising their party funds during the past couple of years. Under the election rules every political party is supposed to submit financial declaration within 60 days every year at the end of the financial year—- which most of them seldom do.
Experience of hindsight reveals that hitherto men of dubious financial means, notorious for coming into money by illegal means, have been depositing handsome amounts in the funds of the political parties of their choice, particularly, in the kitty of those parties, which they, in their own wisdom, thought to have a fair chance of winning the polls. By this modus operandi they naturally won the heart of the head of those parties who, in order to oblige them in turn, used to give them party ticket for the National Assembly or nominated them for the membership of the senate. Not that the EC was ignorant of this unholy alliance between them but since it was a toothless body, which danced to the tune of the rulers , it always looked the other way.
Granted that no political party can function unless it has sufficient funds at its disposal . What is at issue, however, is not the funds but the ways and means through which they are raised. Unfortunately, barring an odd political party, many questions can be raised on some parties on their ways and means through which they raise and operate their party funds. Transparency is a word unknown to them.
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