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"The obligations to promote the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression require that States guarantee the transparency of all aspects of political and electoral processes, and should particularly put in place measures to: (a) Enact regulations requiring the submission of periodic financial reports by parties, political organizations and candidates, entailing full disclosure of all resources collected, in monetary form or in kind, and their origin, and all expenditure, in order to promote public scrutiny and informed voting by citizens. Political finance reporting should be comprehensive, timely, available to the public, and subject to stringent sanctions for inadequate disclosure or timeliness."
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UNHRC: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, para. 82.aSummaries
- States should require records of expenditure.
- Public legislation on disclosure should adopt the following guideline: disclosure provisions should distinguish between income and expenditure.
- Reports should be timely, public, detailed, and comprehensive and should be understandable to the public at large.
- Special records for direct and indirect contributions to campaigns should be required.
- Parties should submit reports at regular intervals.
- Legislation should cover fundamental issues such as sources of funding, private donations, public subsidies to political parties, the financing of election campaigns and provisions for disclosure, reporting, monitoring, and enforcement.