Press Releases

Chișinău, 16 June 2026 – The two-day Regional Conference “Money in Politics” 2026 commenced today in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. Among the participants is Mr. Jovan Kalaba, President of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The conference is organized by the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova in partnership with International IDEA, UNDP Moldova, the Council of Europe, the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.

This year's conference is dedicated to a topic that has become increasingly relevant both for the Republic of Moldova and for the wider region, particularly in light of electoral experiences from the past two years: the impact of virtual money on real-world politics.

Existing regulatory frameworks and oversight tools, largely designed for the pre-digital era, struggle to keep pace with the speed, scale, and complexity of contemporary political financing and digitally coordinated campaign practices.

The conference will provide a regional platform for reflection and exchange of views on emerging risks, regulatory responses, and institutional approaches related to political and electoral financing in the digital age.

Participants include representatives of election management bodies, authorities responsible for regulating political financing, anti-corruption agencies, financial intelligence units, civil society organizations, investigative journalists, academic researchers, representatives of digital platforms, blockchain and financial technology experts, as well as representatives of international organizations with expertise in electoral assistance, political finance, and AI governance.