Session by Rolf Alter, Director, OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Money plays a role both as a channel for citizens to support their candidates or political parties, and as a means for candidates and political parties to reach out to their constituencies. Access to resources for political parties and candidates also shapes political competition. Parliamentarians have an important stake in advancing the global debate on the role of money in politics. There are still many loopholes in political party funding regulations that are open to exploitation by powerful special interests. Loans, membership fees, and third party funding are all used to circumvent spending limits and other regulations. Many countries struggle to define and regulate third-party campaigning leaving them ill-equipped to prevent the channelling of election spending through supposedly independent committees and interest groups. Only a handful of countries have regulations in place for third-party campaigning and globalisation is complicating the regulation of private funding of political parties as foreign companies and wealthy individuals are often deeply integrated with domestic business interests. This OECD report finds that 29% of OECD countries have an independent electoral management body and there is no one-size-fits all model. But whatever the structure, the institutions responsible for enforcing political finance regulations should have a clear mandate, legal power and the capacity to deal with large volumes of work. While data clearly shows that sanctions are effective in improving compliance with the rules, many countries struggle to ensure sanctions that are both proportionate and dissuasive. One clear-cut lesson is that ensuring the effective implementation of political finance regulations still remains challenging in many countries. The Framework on Financing Democracy presented in this report shapes the global debate on risks and policy options, and provides tangible advice for the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns. The report also features detailed case studies of Canada, Chile, Estonia, France, Korea, Mexico, United Kingdom, Brazil and India.