EPDE board member Zosia Lutkiewicz, President of the Political Accountability Foundation, took part in the 2025 edition of the Money in Politics conference, held on 8-9 July in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova.

The conference provided a focused platform for examining the growing vulnerabilities at the intersection of political finance and digital campaigning. This year, key themes included illicit political financing in online spaces, the use of cryptocurrencies, cross-border funding, vote buying, foreign interference, and the role of disinformation in undermining democratic processes.

During the panel, Zosia highlighted that many of these threats—particularly foreign-influenced money in politics (FIMI), anonymous digital donations, and third-party financing—fall outside the capacity of any one institution and require closer cooperation:

“Challenges such as FIMI, use of cryptocurrencies and third-party foreign financing are not ones either Election Management Bodies or observers can address alone. We need interdisciplinary cooperation formats that would bring together the election administration, oversight agencies, civil society, and tech organizations — so that we can learn from one another and together come up with solutions to these complex problems.” – Zosia Lutkiewicz, EPDE Board

She also stressed the importance of sustainable long-term support for domestic election observers, noting that their proximity to political and social dynamics positions them to identify risks early. With adequate and consistent resources, they can bridge knowledge and capacity gaps and improve methodologies to monitor arising challenges to election integrity.

The 2025 edition of the Money in Politics Conference is hosted by the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova, together with international development partners, including the UNDP, International IDEA, the Council of Europe, IFES, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, and the International Republican Institute.