In response to our blog [1] from March 14, the United National Movement and the Christian-Democratic Movement have sent us comprehensive information on their income, for which we thank both political parties.

It was clarified that the United National Movement has gained GEL 2,278,442.50 with selling its former office. This information is provided in the party’s audit report, which we welcome as a step contributing to the openness of political parties’ finances.

The Christian-Democratic Movement has provided us with bank statements, showing that the party has raised Euro 30,000 by organizing seminars in Georgia and abroad.

We still see a problem in the financial declaration forms designed by the Chamber of Control, where the categories of political parties’ income do not provide comprehensive information. In order to avoid such misunderstandings, the Chamber of Control should specify the “other income” category.

Also, other problems regarding political parties’ financial declarations and the tracability of their donors, that we have described [2]before, remain yet to be resolbed. In particular:

• Significant part of declarations are uploaded in bad quality, therefore it is practically impossible read them and to get all relevant information. Although many of the bad-quality files have been replaced, some info is still not visible, making it impossible to analyze the data properly. In particular, the donors’ names, surnames, identification numbers and other data are not readable.
• Publicity required by the law is neglected, and the addresses of individual donors are hidden.

We ask the Chamber of Control of Georgia to ensure political finance transparency and to fulfill publicity requirements in compliance with law.

You can find additional information provided by the Christian-Democratic Movement in the attachments below.