DIKO wants to abolish party donors’ system

By George Psyllides

OPPOSITION DIKO disagrees with a proposal by larger parties to change the way the state assistance to political parties is allocated, its chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos said on Friday.

Papadopoulos said his party supported pluralism and was planning to submit a proposal banning companies and private citizens from funding parties.

“We only want the state grant, under the full control of the Auditor-general, to end the dependence” and corruption experienced in the past, he said.

DIKO’s proposal will exempt contributions from party members, he said.

“Despite DIKO being affected to a significant degree by the change in the way the (state) funding would be allocated, we are nevertheless concerned, as a matter of principle, because we think smaller parties would be affected,” he said. “We believe in pluralism and our objective is to boost and not restrict it.”

DISY and AKEL are proposing that the first 15 per cent of the state grant be distributed equally among parties and the rest doled out according to their strength in the last legislative elections.

This would see a larger piece of the state grant – 85 per cent – allotted according to party strength; currently, the party-strength allocation is 78 per cent.

The 85-15 distribution would apply both to the fixed annual grant, as well as to the extraordinary funds given to parties to help with election-campaign spending.

 

 

 

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