JAMAICA’S push for legislation to address the issue of political campaign financing has come in for commendation from Organisation of American States (OAS) Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza.

The head of the OAS, who was a guest at the Jamaica Observer Press Club at the newspaper’s head office in Kingston last Thursday, said this will pave the way for other countries in the region to follow suit.

“The most important thing we can do from here is not only support the Jamaican initiative to have their own laws, but also try to project that to the whole Caribbean,” Insulza told editors and reporters at the event.

Insulza explained that the OAS has been concerned for a long time about the whole issue of political financing. He said the organisation has been trying to get countries to buy into the vision that transparency of the political process is necessary.

“The country which we have the most co-operation to move the issue forward is Jamaica, which is proposing some legislation in the matter now,” he said.

Asked if he was convinced that Jamaica’s two major political parties are committed to transparency in campaign financing, Insulza said “the signs are very encouraging”.

“I have been to some other countries of the Caribbean and many countries are looking at what happens with the Jamaican initiative and looking forward to try to push similar things in their own country, so we attach a lot of importance to that,” he said.

The OAS, Insulza said, is very hopeful that Jamaica will be successful in passing the necessary legislation.

“This is not something that is being imposed from abroad on Jamaica, it is something the Jamaican Government wants to do, and so we very much hope they will succeed in this. I know that this could create a certain wave of similar legislation in the Caribbean,” he said.

In September, the Jamaican Parliament began debating the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act which includes provisions for the registration, regulation and funding of political parties.

The intention is to amend the Act to provide for, among other things, procedures for the registration of political parties, refusal of and objection to applications for registration, deregistration of registered political parties, application for State funding, qualification for State funding, obligations of registered political parties that qualify for State funding, the use of State funding by political parties, and financial reporting requirements.