Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

SECRETARY GENERAL of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, yesterday pledged that body's support to fast-tracking legislation for campaign financing in Jamaica.

Mr. Insulza, who left the island yesterday after a one-day visit, said funding for political parties was one of the issues he discussed with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Senator Delano Franklyn, the State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"One issue we (OAS) have not touched on enough is campaign financing and it's one that has to be solved," said Senor Insulza. "In order to have transparency the governments in the region have to deal quickly with legislation."

Senor Insulza said the OAS was prepared to assist its members financially, and otherwise, to enact legislation in several members of the 34-country organisation.

While he was not aware of how many OAS members had legislation for campaign financing in order, Senor Insulza said many were lagging.

He told The Gleaner that a bill requiring political parties in his native Peru to open their books for public scrutiny was passed only four years ago.

For the past three years, the matter of campaign financing for political parties in Jamaica has been a sticky issue.

Tainted money

During the 2004 Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) annual conference, then leader, Edward Seaga, accused a faction of the party of accepting 'tainted money' to finance an internal campaign. The charges were never substantiated.

Then, last October, the governing People's National Party (PNP) was placed in the hot seat after J$31 million was posted to three of its accounts by the Dutch oil company, Trafigura Beheer. The PNP said the money was a gift to fund its campaign for pending general elections, but Trafigura executives denied this.

The PNP has accused the JLP of stalling a decision on campaign financing, by refusing to participate in the joint select committee. This was proposed in a bill tabled in Parliament last May by independent Member of Parliament, Abe Dabdoub.

The JLP has refused to sit with the committee, arguing that the Electoral Commission should determine a policy on campaign financing.