Ref. no. 07 from 08.12.2015

1. Background

In December 2015 Promo-LEX Association (Moldova), with the financial support of the British Embassy in Chisinau, through the Good Governance Fund, have launched a four months project aimed to contribute to the improvement of the political parties’ funding regulations and civic oversight.

In April 2015 the Parliament adopted the law no. 36 on political parties and campaign funding which introduced a series of important regulations with regard to state funding of political parties, limitation of donations, monitoring and audit of the funds of political parties, sanctions for illegal funding of the political parties and election campaigns etc. The Central Election Commission became responsible for the implementation of the law as well as for the control over the political parties funding.

Still, a series of additional issues (i.e. lack of transparency of the “de facto” income of the political parties, dependence of the political party funding only from several donors, party membership fees are not collected due to the lack of record of the political parties’ members, lack of a mechanism for monitoring of the undeclared funds of the political parties/election candidates etc.) that have been observed by Promo-LEX Association while monitoring the 2014-2015 elections, needs to be additionally explored in order to ensure further improvement and implementation of the law, as well as civic monitoring of political parties funding.

In this context, by implementing the project “Fighting political corruption in the Republic of Moldova by improving political parties’ funding regulations and civic oversight”, Promo-LEX plans to elaborate a comprehensive analysis of the current strategies, practices and tools used by the political parties to fund their activities and a methodology on civic monitoring of political parties funding.

2. Description of the International Expert tasks

Promo-LEX Association is looking to select an International Experts on political parties funding who will work for 20 days during the project period, together with the National/Promo-LEX expert towards accomplishment of the following specific tasks:

• elaborate the structure of the study on strategies, practices and tools used by the political parties to fund their activities in Moldova;
• develop the methodology for the study (the interview grid and/or questionnaires for data collection in the regions + guidance for monitors on how to conduct interviews in the regions);
• analyse the national legal framework and practices on political parties funding from the perspective of the international obligations and best practices;
• participate as a trainer at the workshop for Promo-LEX civic monitors (who will further collect relevant data on political parties’ funding from the regions);
• assist and consult the National Expert on data collection and analysis for the study;
• support the National Expert on elaboration of a methodology on civic monitoring of political parties’ funding;
• Participate at public events organized within the project for the presentation of the results/outcomes (if necessary or requested by Promo-LEX).

3. Timeframe, deliverables and honoraria

During December 2015 – March 2016 the International Expert will work for 20 days, both at distance (via e-mail, skype etc.) and in the country. The International Expert will provide to Promo-LEX the following deliverables:

• Structure of the study (draft version), as agreed with the National Expert;
• Methodology of the study, including data collection tools and relevant guidance on how to apply it;
• Input to the study with regard to the national legal framework and practices on political parties funding as compared to the international obligations and best practices in this area;
• Study on political parties funding in Moldova (draft version), as elaborated with the National Expert;
• A report on consultancy/assistance offered to the National Expert with regard to data collection/analysis for the study and on the methodology on civic monitoring of political parties funding.

The honoraria will be paid in the end of the Experts’ mission contingent on the delivery of the services.

4. Criteria for selecting the experts

The international expert must meet the following criteria:

• Education: university degree in law, political science, public administration, public policy, finances, management or other relevant fields.
• Experience: at least 5 year of working experience on the topic of political parties/campaign funding; at least two years of consultancy/training experience; relevant research experience and advanced knowledge/abilities in elaborating research methodologies/studies; previous experience in consultancy/assistance for a donor organization, governmental institutions, NGO/think-tank in the East-European / Eastern Partnership area is a strong advantage;
• Working languages and IT skills: project deliverables and consultancy services will be offered in English. Knowledge of Romanian or Russian languages will be considered an asset. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.);
• Availability to deliver the required services and products starting from December 2015;
• Other required skills: deep analytical skills, excellent self-organizing and good communication skills;

5. Method of application

Interested experts should send below listed documents to [email protected] by December 22, 2015 (6 P.M. Chisinau time), with the subject line entitled “Application_International Expert_Full name”:

• CV (max. 3 pages, please include contact phone and/or Skype ID for an eventual interview);
• Name and contact data of two persons/organizations for further recommendations;
• List of publications on political parties funding (if any) and availability statement;
• Financial offer (expected rate per day, in Euro).

For any additional questions please contact Mr. Nicolae Panfil, Program Coordinator at Promo-LEX Association via e-mail [email protected]. Deadline for questions is December 16, 2015 (6 P.M. Chisinau time). In order to ensure equal treatment and equal chances for all the potential experts, Promo-LEX will answer all the questions by December 18, 2015.

6. Short description of the Promo-LEX Association

Promo-LEX Association is a non-government organization established in 2002 by a group of young lawyers with the aim at developing democracy in the Republic of Moldova, including in the Transnistrian region. Promo-LEX Association operates on the basis of two programs:

• Human Rights Program – the overall goal of the Program is to promote and implement international human rights standards in the Republic of Moldova;
• Monitoring Democratic Processes Program – the overall aim of the Program is to improve the quality and to increase citizen’s trust in democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova (monitoring of electoral processes, sectorial reforms and decision-making processes in Association’s priority areas).

Promo-LEX Association is member of several national and international networks and platforms, such as: Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, Eastern Partnership Civil Society Platform, Platform for Gender Equality, European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations, European Platform for Democratic Elections, ECOSOC and others. More information on Promo-LEX Association can be found on www.promolex.md.