Expert Voices: Taking on Corruption
Originally published in the June 2024 edition of the IFES Voice. Subscribe here.
"We are nearly halfway through the mega year of elections in 2024. In the Center for Anti-Corruption and Democratic Trust (CACDT) at IFES, we’ve been monitoring a number of concerning trends related to corruption and the rule of law that have the potential to undermine free and fair elections.
As Transparency International noted at the launch of the Corruption Perceptions Index this year, “the global trend of weakening justice systems is reducing accountability for public officials, which allows corruption to thrive." While we have seen some notable decisions from the judiciary such as in Senegal, pushing back against unconstitutional decisions by the executive, this is not the norm. Weak justice systems allow illicit finance to enter countries and subvert and undermine electoral processes. In the worst cases, this is a deliberate part of hybrid warfare being exercised by a number of states. However, the lack of transparency and enforcement in the justice sector in parts of the world also allows corporates to circumvent rules around political and campaign finance contributions with little concern for any repercussions.
The CACDT has been working in partnership with many country offices to both deepen our understanding of these issues and to develop new and innovative solutions. For example, under the GAP-SNA project, we have been working with USAID and a number of partners to understand the role of illicit finance in Eastern Europe. We are undertaking new research supported by SIDA to assess how corporates with vested interests in the carbon economy have been channeling money overtly and covertly to undermine the transition and climate justice for millions around the world. Under a pilot project we will be assessing how to optimize engagement with multi-stakeholder fora to address transnational and strategic corruption with a particular focus on advocacy for a resolution to address political finance to be included in the UN Convention Against Corruption in 2025.
Since joining IFES a little over one year ago, it has been incredible to see the energy, innovation and passion of colleagues throughout the network that has enabled the organization to support countries, people and institutions around the world defend and, in many cases, extend their democracies. And many of the innovations that are being trialed around the world are receiving global recognition. IFES’s partner in Nigeria – Kimpact Development Initiative – is a finalist in the World Just Challenge 2024 recognizing the impact that their efforts on transparency and accountability of election judgements around the Nigerian elections has had. We must not downplay the increasing scale of the problem, but I am confident that collectively we have the ideas and approaches to push back and support resilient democracies throughout the 21st century."
