Electoral Campaign Financing and Criminal Policy
Authors: Kullolli Brunela 
Published: February 2020

In a democratic state, power is exercised by elected bodies through free and fair elections. The choice of the political class that will exercise political, economic, etc. power by the sovereign (the people) is one of the most important moments in the way how a state works.The sovereign and the expression of his will by voting for those to be elected to the governing or governing bodies. The first part will address and analyze the election campaign, the day of voting until the moment of the results, is the period when the sovereign exercises his power directly by voting which political class will lead the state.Political classes seeking to govern and govern governing bodies disclose their programs, their policies during the election campaign.Election campaigns in modern and capitalist society require funding as they are associated with costs, expenses. Election campaigns cannot be done without capital, without money. The second part will analyze the power of money in election campaigns is related to the expenses political parties or candidates make to their program, to disseminate their political and governing ideas, so money power is used to influence the sovereign to be informed on election day. who to vote for and who to choose in the governing bodies. The use of money in election campaigns forces a democratic state to set rules on how to finance, spend, etc., so setting rules such as how the power of money will affect election campaigns and their control by the responsible bodies.In a country with a fragile and transitional democracy such as the Albanian state, the control of money power during election campaigns is extremely difficult, however the manner of controlling election campaign financing is clearly defined in legislation. In this paper I will contribute by analyzing the impact of money on the Albanian state policy, first in terms of electoral financing, financing of political parties and individuals in electoral campaigns In this paper I will address and analyze how money affects constitutional principles during election campaigns, how it affects the principles of free and fair elections. The third part will address and analyze how entities participating in electoral campaigns are financed.The use of illegal money during campaigns affects the violation of constitutional principles for free and fair elections.I will address and analyze the criminal policies in the field of illegal financing of electoral campaigns. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania in relation to free and fair elections. llegal financing of election campaigns is a current phenomenon of the Albanian society, bringing about the incrimination of Albanian politics.Illegal financing of entities participating in electoral campaigns comes from organized crime or suspects in criminal activities, and this brings about the establishment of those persons who protect the latter's interests and not the interests of the constituents or democratic interests of a state .Intensify the fight against illicit financing of electoral campaigns by creating not only a complete legal framework for preventing illicit financing but also creating practical mechanisms for not only law enforcement but also the practical prevention of uncontrolled funding of electoral subjects.Setting criminal penalties for illegal financing of electoral campaigns and revising the Criminal Code in incriminating all illegal financing actions that violate free and fair elections may be the most important step in the fight against illegal financing of electoral campaigns. Illegal financing of electoral campaigns in Albania calls for free and fair elections and questions the basic principles of the representation of political entities in governing institutions and therefore the interference in law and penal policy is current and immediate.