An international conference on “Campaign Finance and Expenditure in Elections” was organised jointly by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Chhattisgarh, Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur and India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).
The conference proved to be an important platform for election management officials, legal experts, policy makers, academics and researchers to deliberate extensively on a crucial issue of democratic governance – regulation of election financing and monitoring of election expenditure.
The inaugural session of the conference was addressed by HNLU Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) V.C. Vivekanandan, Chhattisgarh’s Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Bhaskar Vilas Sandipan (IAS), and Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Yashwant Kumar (IAS). Dr. Kritika Mathur, Assistant Professor at IIIDEM, delivered a special presentation on the role of international cooperation in strengthening electoral administration.
Speaking on the occasion, HNLU Vice Chancellor Prof. Vivekanandan announced that the University’s School of Law and Governance will soon launch a “Democratic Leadership Academy (DLA)” , with electoral reforms as a key focus area.
Held against the backdrop of growing global concerns about transparency, accountability and equity in political funding, the conference discussed the regulation of electoral financing, monitoring of electoral expenditure, public financing arrangements, disclosure mechanisms and new challenges posed by digital technology and artificial intelligence.
- First technical session
The first session on “Contribution Regulation: Foundation of a Clean Money Framework” was moderated by Dr. Anindya Tiwari, Assistant Professor, HNLU.
In this session, Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) V. C. Vivekanandan and Director, School of Law and Public Policy, HNLU, Prof. (Dr.) Yogendra Kumar Srivastava shared their views on issues such as financial contributions through digital means, direct funding models and accountability mechanisms.
- Second Technical Session
The session on “Expenditure Regulation: Controlling the Cost of Democracy” was moderated by Dr. Mayank Srivastava.
In this session, Dr. Deepak Kumar Srivastava, Director, School of Law and Governance and Dr. Avinash Samal, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Student Welfare, highlighted the legal and institutional arrangements required to monitor election expenditure and ensure regulatory compliance.
- Third Technical Session
The session on “Public and State Funding: Equitable Architectures for Political Financing” was moderated by Dr. Eritrea Roy.
During the session, Prof. Dr. Rakesh Derhgaven of the Chhattisgarh Education Department and Mr. Pranav Khandelwal, Advocate, AKP (Abhinav Kardekar & Partners) discussed various models of public funding and the possibilities of making electoral competition more fair and inclusive.
- Fourth Technical Session
The session on “Emerging and Cross-Cutting Issues: Digital Frontiers, Organized Crime and AI in Campaign Finance” was moderated by Dr. Amitesh Deshmukh.
In the session, Dr. Anindya Tiwari and Professor and Dean of SRM University, Prof. (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh presented an analysis of the challenges associated with digital political advertising, illicit funding sources, algorithmic influence, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in electoral processes.
- Fifth and final technical session
The final session, titled “Disclosure, Transparency and Oversight: Making Campaign Finance Legitimate”, was moderated by Dr. Debmita Mandal.
The session was attended by a representative from the Electoral Management Association of South Africa and shared global best practices related to transparency, disclosure mechanisms and public accountability in electoral financing.
- Closing session
The conference concluded with a discussion moderated by Mr. Hardik Srivastava and Dr. Amitesh Deshmukh. Speakers outlined key takeaways from the day’s discussions and emphasized the need for evidence-based reforms to further strengthen democratic accountability.
The conference provided a platform for meaningful dialogue on complex issues related to election financing and expenditure management and made an important contribution towards making democratic institutions more transparent, accountable and effective.