Money and politics are inextricably linked.

The functioning of contemporary democracies necessitates political financing, and sometimes the combination of private and public funding sources. However, there is a strong need to control unfair and illegal practices and to regulate political finance in the light of the role that political parties play in the democratic process.

Attempts to regulate political finance typically include codes of conduct for political parties, disclosure rules, and contributions and expenditure limits. A number of factors are likely to have an impact on the effectiveness of such regulatory regimes, including the quality of the regulation and the level of political will and commitment.

On 20–22 October 2015, a group of Asian and African practitioners met in Bandung, Indonesia, to discuss political finance regulation and the eradication of corruption.

The meeting highlighted the increasing resource constraints and challenges faced by oversight agencies, in particular in relation to prosecutorial powers, human resources, technical skills, enforcement and budget allocations.