Election watchdog goes online

The Electoral Commission database will improve availability of party finance data

The Electoral Commission is planning a web-enabled database to increase its effectiveness and improve public access to political parties’ financial information.

The agency is an independent body charged with ensuring fair elections, including overseeing loans and donations and regulating campaign spending.

An improved database allowing online submission of and access to data will help maintain public confidence in the UK democratic process, said the Commission.

“We register 300 political parties and we need to increase the effectiveness of both the way information is exchanged across the Commission and the way we manage party data,” said a spokeswoman.

“We want to increase public confidence by allowing people to go online and more effectively search the register.”

The new system will also be able to provide an audit trail for evidence to support enforcement actions.

“We take action if parties do not follow the rules, and improving how information is cross-checked and providing an audit will help us fulfil our role,” said the spokeswoman.

Development will comprise four work streams: registration; the submission of donation, loans and expenditure; the submission of expenses; and the submission of annual statements of account.