Nazzareno Bonnici has contested elections under the banner Partit tal-Ajkla but proposed new rules will bar him from using the name and emblem.

The draft law regulating political party financing, released last week, will make it mandatory for political parties to register with the Electoral Commission if they are to be listed on the ballot sheet.

But registration comes with a raft of conditions such as having a statute, administrative structures and an obligation to hold accounts and report on donations received.

Mr Bonnici will have to ditch the Tal-Ajkla banner unless his political formation takes on the semblance of a political party.

If he reneges on this obligation, Mr Bonnici’s name will next time appear on the ballot sheet in a list with other independent candidates.

Most of my members give to both parties without expecting anything in return- MDA president

The independent title means no reference can be made to the party name and emblem on the ballot sheet.

The new rules will block the one or two-men shows, disguised as parties, which sprout up at election time, most notably the European Parliament election, only to disappear soon afterwards.

But they will also impose an obligation on political formations like Norman Lowell’s Imperium Europa to transform into an organised party structure if candidates are to run under its banner at election time.

The rules proposed in the Bill widely follow the conditions for political party registration in the UK.

They have been received critically by Alternattiva Demokratika, a mainstream party that has long called for a law to regulate party financing.

According to Carmel Cacopardo, AD deputy leader, the proposed law places a heavy financial and administrative burden on a small party like AD.

He said AD would be required to employ a suitably qualified person to be in line with the provisions of the Bill, something the party had no resources for.

In the consultation phase, AD had proposed that political parties whose turnover did not exceed €100,000 per annum would have their audit fees shouldered by the regulator.

The UK law does allow less onerous reporting for minor parties but these can only contest parish or community council elections.

However, AD has also questioned the wisdom of putting the Electoral Commission in charge of overseeing the new rules given that it is composed of representatives of the two major parties.

Columnist Martin Scicluna, head of the Today Public Policy Institute, is less concerned about the primary role given to the commission in ensuring the law is respected.

The law is no panacea because there are so many ways of getting around it, as history has shown

“I believe the Electoral Commission is the right body to oversee this law and it is my impression that over the past two decades it has had a record of being objective and fair,” he said.

Describing the Bill as an important step forward, Mr Scicluna said the success of the law depended on how tight the controls were to ensure “human ingenuity” did not find a way around the system.

“The thresholds for donations make sense but I still have to analyse the details of the law to determine whether the controls are strong enough to deter those who try and bypass the system, especially through multiple donations,” he said.

It is the frailty of human nature that makes Michael Falzon, a former Nationalist minister, cynical of the success such a law will have in controlling donations.

He cited examples of scandals linked to illicit political party financing that took place in countries that had laws regulating the matter such as the UK, Italy and Germany.

“Helmut Kohl, the German chancellor who united Germany, ended his career in disgrace over finance irregularities. I am in favour of such a law but it is no panacea because there are so many ways of getting around it as history has shown us,” Mr Falzon said.

Entrepreneurs who donate money to political parties will welcome such a law, according to Malta Developers Association president Sandro Chetcuti.

“Most of my members give to both parties without expecting anything in return,” he said, adding it was good to regulate the matter.

For Paul Abela, president of the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises, GRTU, the law is a step in the right direction.

“The parties have to sustain themselves in some way or another and an organised system backed by the law is always much better than the current set-up,” Mr Abela said.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com