Regulations concerning the funding of political parties and election campaigns, commonly known as political finance, play a critical role in safeguarding the integrity of political processes and institutions in any democracy.

While money enables political participation and representation as well as the expression of political support, ineffectively designed political finance systems could lead to corruption, threatening key democratic principles and values. Political finance reforms are particularly needed in Southeast Asia in order to mitigate corruption risks and restore public trust in politics.

This chapter is International IDEA’s contribution to a research project led by Perludem on political party finance, both in terms of financial management within the party, but also the management of campaign funds. The research was conducted in four countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Timor Leste. International IDEA’s chapter provides a concise comparative overview of political finance systems in these countries and also puts them in a wider Southeast-Asia  and global context. The full publication Political Party Finance Reform in Southeast-Asia can be found here: https://perludem.org/2021/09/12/political-party-finance-reform-in-southeast-asia/

The chapter is part of the Political Finance Assessment series conducted by International IDEA.