02/20/2024

Why India’s Supreme Court Eliminated Anonymous Political Donations

In the latest ruling, the court called electoral bonds unconstitutional

Political observers in India have long warned against political finance as a vehicle driving corruption in the world’s biggest democracy. 

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the general elections, where opacity in political funding and the murky flow of funds have often benefited the party in power. It has also contributed to the soaring cost of elections. In 2019, India’s election was the most expensive in the world, costing a whopping $8.6 billion—almost twice as much as the cost of their 2014 election, according to a study by the Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies.

But now, a surprise historic verdict from the Indian Supreme Court could finally change things. On Thursday, Feb. 15, India’s top court scrapped a seven-year-old election funding system known as “electoral bonds” in a bid to introduce a base level of transparency to campaign financing.

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.