Democrats trying to figure out how to pay campaign consultants, the NYTimes reports.

“Fundraising Central: Majority of Presidential Bundlers and Other Fundraisers Hail from Only Five U.S. Industries: Lawyers and Law Firms, Three Finance Industries, and Real Estate,” CFI reports.

The rules governing presidential elections in Kenya, which require a candidate to have a majority as well as a parliamentary district and 25% of the vote in at least 5/8 regions, have focused attention on the main contender’s parliamentary district. The intense competition in the district has exacerbated (at least) the vote buying in the district, [...]

After months of controversy and heated opposition, the Electoral Finance Bill passed into law today. The provisions according to the summary at the NZ Herald are:
Any group or person wishing to campaign for or against a particular candidate or political party, or policies held by a party, will fall under the third-parties regime…
…will have to [...]

Afriquenligne reports:
Kenyan political parties have spent a massive US$ 20 million to fund campaigns for their presidential and parliamentary candidates ahead of the 27 December elections, a UN-funded political expenditure monitoring report revealed here Monday.
The article also discusses several instances of political finance malpractice, especially the use of government resources for campaigning purposes.
The press release by the [...]

The $800k that was found by Argetine customs officials in August, which was subsequently said to have been contributions from the Venezuelan government to Cristina Fernandez’s presidential campaign and led to firings and resignations in the Argentine government and in the Argentine branch of the Venezuelan oil company, has erupted into a larger international row [...]

The BBC reports that Kenyan electoral authority has charged the state run broadcaster with violating the provision of equal time to all presidential candidates, instead providing biased coverage in favor of President Kibaki.

National delayed the third reading of the proposed reform in New Zealand. Had it been considered, Parliament would be done for the session. The delay may give National other political advantages, as they can attack the government on other matters. But it seems to set the stage for the final showdown on the bill before recess.  

This week Feingold and collaborators released more information about their designs to resurrect the public financing system for presidential candidates, reports The Trail. The details:
The legislation would dramatically increase the amount of matching funds candidates received during the presidential primaries. Right now, candidates who opt to accept public financing (only John Edwards and Tom Tancredo [...]

Advierte Alfonso Ramírez Cuéllar, an aspirant for his leadership in his party, the PRD, charges that PRD factions are illegally receiving money from regional PAN and PRI governments, El Universal reports (spanish).  

Juan Bolivar Diaz has another lengthy article at Clave Digitial on campaign finance regulations in the Dominican Republic, this time emphasizing that DR joins only Honduras in Latin America to lack any regulations campaigns transmitted on television and radio. In DR, he writes, the opposition to such regulations is framed in terms of maintaining free [...]

The latest scandal for the Labour Party means the chances of reform may be revived, writes the BBC.