To the Congress of the Republic are left less than six months to approve the electoral reforms that must take effect in the general elections of April 2026since, according to current regulations, these changes can be carried out in this process as long as they are enacted, as a maximum, one year before election day. In this scenario, one of the electoral modifications that must be prioritized is the one that would allow contributions from private for-profit companies to political parties during the race.
LOOK: The necessary electoral reforms that remain to be approved for 2026
In 2017, the year in which the corruption scandal involving the Brazilian company Odebrecht broke, Parliament modified the Political Organizations Law, prohibiting these contributions and limiting financial support so that they come only from natural persons, who must do so through banking.
However, the current situation leads us to think about resuming the previous model with certain locks, in order to prevent illegal economies from supplanting these economic contributions. The constitutional lawyer Milagros Campos pointed out, in Peru21that “financing impacts electoral competition, the functioning of institutions, and is essential to guarantee integrity in politics.”
He also said that private financing “tries to guarantee transparency and prevent resources from coming from illicit sources” and that “information and control are not only useful for regulatory entities, but also provide voters with key data.” and deter corruption.”
Meanwhile, the lawyer specializing in electoral law Jose Naupari Wong He maintained that “there should be no problem in allowing contributions from for-profit legal entities,” but, to promote transparency, these should be visible and public “in real time.” Later, he added that it must be verified that “the contracts made with the State are based on merit and not as a reward” to the contributing companies.
“By allowing this, you can formally optimize transparencybut, more than knowing who contributes and how much, the important thing is that this information is known in real time. Now, the law provides that parties must make two reports to the ONPE, one during and one after the process. Both reports would serve very little to make the contributions transparent,” he told Peru21.
At the end of August, the head of the ONPEPiero Corvetto, announced the presentation of a bill to Congress, through the JNE, to allow national companies to finance political organizations. As he noted on that occasion, “the big problem is the money that comes from illegal logging, drug trafficking and illegal mining,” which contribute financially to campaigns and candidates for elected office.
This project provides that parties can receive money from private financing through contributions in cash or in kind from a natural person, a national legal entity, or through a foreign non-profit legal entity, which does not exceed 120 UIT per year. Impediments are also established on companies that have contractual links with the State.
As he was able to know Peru21the JNE held two plenary sessions to discuss the ONPE proposal. However, there were several observations, so the proposal has not yet been submitted to Congress.
DEBATE IN CONGRESS
Next week will be representation; However, the congressman Fernando Rospigliosi (Fuerza Popular), president of the Parliament’s Constitution Commission, indicated that he plans to debate the rule that contemplates reincorporating the figure of private financing for political parties.
In his opinion, “private financing of parties should obviously be allowed in electoral campaigns. We already know what is going to happen if that does not happen, that illegal mining, organized crime, drug trafficking are going to finance themselves at a low price, because they are criminals; Obviously, they are going to finance certain campaigns at a low level and they are going to have mayors, governors, congressmen and suddenly even a president of the Republic, as we have already seen that has happened.”
In statements to RPP, the legislator maintained that “those limits that have been imposed on the private financing of electoral campaigns are absurd and that should be modified, as happens everywhere in the world, where campaigns are financed by private entities.”
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