4 December 2009, Stockholm – Closing the International IDEA Round Table on “Illicit Funding in Politics as a Challenge to Democracy” Mexican President Felipe Calderón said that while current electoral rules provide good oversight over campaign accounts at banks, more reforms are needed to make local officials more accountable and more closely supervised when using cash in campaigns.

The Round Table, held on 1-2 December 2009 in Mexico City, was organized by International IDEA and the Government of Mexico, in cooperation with the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) and the Institute for Legal Research of the UNAM University. The theme of the Round Table was a personal wish by President Calderon.

International IDEA’s Secretary-General Vidar Helgesen summarized the event by highlighting that illicit funding of political processes is a major threat to democracy.

“Illicit funds have been used to influence electoral processes, penetrate political parties, corrupt local authorities and even capture entire state structures,” Helgesen said. “It affects countries where illicit substances are produced such as Colombia or Afghanistan, but also regions used by criminal networks as points of trans-shipment and re-packaging like West Africa. Countries representing the most important export markets for such substances, for example, the United States and Europe are also being increasingly affected.”

Eminent researchers, policy practitioners and civil society leaders from all over the world – particularly from regions where illicit political financing is experienced in an acute way such as in Latin America, Eastern Europe, West Africa and elsewhere – participated in the Round Table. The aim was to share experiences and explore ways to address the problems effectively at the national and international level.

The Round Table was organized in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Council of International IDEA’s 25 Member States of which Mexico is currently the Chair.