Miller...hoping to send report to Parliament soon.

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

THE LONG-AWAITED Electoral Commission (EC) report on campaign financing may be submitted to Parliament in July, says EC chairman, Professor Errol Miller.

Speaking to The Gleaner from Barbados recently, Professor Miller said EC members met Thursday at its St. Andrew office to discuss a final draft of the recommendations. He said a conclusive report is expected to be sent to Parliament for approval following the committee's next meeting on July 4.

Sensitive issue

"This is the closest thing to a final report since we have been meeting," said Professor Miller. "Some members want to have sufficient time to look at some of the proposals, but we are hoping we will be able to submit a report to Parliament soon."

The matter of campaign financing has been a sensitive issue between the ruling People's National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) for some time now with both sides daring each other to open their books to the public.

In May 2006, then JLP Member of Parliament Abe Dabdoub, tabled a bill in Parliament proposing legislation for campaign financing and the registration of political parties.

The PNP has given its support to a joint committee to review the proposals, but the JLP has refused, saying it prefers to await the EC report.

Recently, outgoing United Nations resident representative Juan Carlos Espinola said Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, are not doing enough to tackle widespread corruption.

Speaking at the crime and politics symposium at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Mr. Espinola named campaign financing as a matter of great concern.

Two much-publicised incidents involving the PNP and JLP have placed campaign financing on the front-burner.

Publicised incidents

At the JLP's annual conference in 2003, then party leader Edward Seaga accused a faction of the party of accepting "tainted money" to run its internal campaign.

Last October, the JLP revealed that $31 million was transferred by the Dutch oil company Trafigura Beheer to three bank accounts belonging to the PNP.

One of the accounts belonged to Senator Colin Campbell, who subsequently resigned as the party's general secretary and information and development minister.

The PNP promised to, and subsequently said, it had returned the funds.