3619 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "State support should be limited to reasonable contributions."
- "Public financing must be aimed at each party represented in Parliament. In order, however, to ensure the equality of opportunities for the different political forces, public financing could also be extended to political bodies representing a significant section of the electoral body and presenting candidates for election. The level of financing could be fixed by legislator on a periodic basis, according to objective criteria."
- "The State should participate in campaign expenses through funding equal to a certain percentage of the above ceiling or proportional to the number of votes obtained. This contribution may however be refused to parties who do not reach a certain threshold of votes."
- "Ensure that the system of reimbursing election campaign expenses is sufficiently well developed to permit regional elections to take place in a genuinely pluralistic climate."
- "The ideal requirements for political finance regulation in post-conflict societies listed below should be viewed as goals for the international community to achieve given the challenging constraints in which they are operating. There are three key requirements in the areas of legal framework, resources for political actors and institutions..2. Sufficient funding and other resources for electoral participants to effectively compete in elections and to remain committed to and confident in the fairness of the electoral process, including: Some form of (1) monetary support (perhaps through international trust funds) to provide electoral participants with effective competitive capacity."
- "The state should enable new parties to enter the political arena and compete under fair conditions with more well-established parties."
- "Public funding should enable new and smaller parties to participate on an equal footing with parties having more financial resources."
- "States should ensure that any support from the state and/or citizens does not interfere with the independence of political parties."
- "The state should ensure that any support from the state and/or citizens does not interfere with the independence of political parties and candidates."
- "Every system of party financing should avoid parties becoming almost entirely dependent on the state and should be designed such that it does not remove key incentives for parties to establish a structural relationship with society."
- "If the law provides for state support for campaign expenditure, parties should receive their funding in good time to allow them to conduct a viable campaign. It should also be checked whether parties from or close to the government have received extra support by virtue of their control of ministries."
- ""FAIR" [is] an electoral process where the playing field is reasonably level and accessible to all electors, parties and candidates, and includes: … equitable access to financial and material resources for party and candidate campaigning."
- "Basically there are two forms of funding of parties and candidates: public funding and private funding, with contributions sometimes coming from foreign sources. The legal framework may provide for electoral campaign financing on the basis of the following internationally recognized standards: That there should be a transparent system of disclosure of the funding received by any party or candidate; That there should be no discrimination with regard to access to public funds for any party or candidate; That public funding should be made available to parties on an equitable basis; That there should be a level playing field among the parties or candidates."
- "Regulations on campaign financing should not favour or discriminate against any party or candidate. There should be a clear separation between the state and political parties, and public resources should not be used unfairly for the benefit of one candidate or group of candidates."
- "Where the government may provide funds for campaigning, this should be done on a fair and equitable basis."
- "Those countries that are not yet funding contesting political parties should introduce the necessary legislation to do so in order to foster uniformity and leveling the playing field."
- "The use of public resources for political campaigns and political party activities should generally be avoided but, if permitted, access thereto must be equitable and be paid for, and conditions for such access and payment must be clearly provided for in the law."
- "If the legal framework for elections provides for public funding, it should be provided on the basis of equity. This does not mean that all political parties and candidates are to receive an equal amount of campaign funds. Provisions for public funding should be clearly stated in the law and based on objective criteria that are not open to subjective interpretation by government authorities."
- "Where there are provisions in the legal framework for elections relating to private contributions to campaign expenses incurred on behalf of parties and candidates, these should be so designed as to ensure equality of freedom to raise private funds. Furthermore, these provisions may include limits on contributions in order to 'level the playing field' to a reasonable degree, taking into account geographic, demographic and material costs."
- "Any provisions for public funding should be clearly stated in the law and based on objective criteria that is not open to subjective interpretation by government authorities. Additionally, the legal framework should ensure that state resources are not misused for campaign purposes and that they are used only with strict adherence to the applicable legal provisions."
- "There should be a clear separation between the State and political parties, and public resources should not be used unfairly for the benefit of one candidate or group of candidates."
- "Equality of opportunity must be guaranteed for parties and candidates alike. This entails a neutral attitude by state authorities, in particular with regard to: iii. public funding of parties and campaigns."
- "Where legislation foresees public funding, political parties must have access to it subject to possible minimum requirements. The latter must be reasonable and non-discriminatory. Apart from different forms of funding provided for by law, any party must refrain from receiving assistance, financial or in kind, from any public authorities, particularly those directed by its members."
- "Reasonable limitations on campaign expenditure may be justified where this is necessary to ensure that the free choice of voters is not undermined or the democratic process distorted by the disproportionate expenditure on behalf of any candidate or party."
- "States should consider adopting measures to prevent excessive funding needs of political parties, such as, establishing limits on expenditure on electoral campaigns."
- "In order to ensure equality of opportunities for the different political forces, electoral campaign expenses shall be limited to a ceiling, appropriate to the situation in the country and fixed in proportion to the number of voters concerned."
- "Voters need to be empowered to choose as autonomous and informed citizens, free from pressures, intimidation, seduction through economic benefits and informed about the resources and support for candidates and parties."
- "Restrictions on fund raising and campaign expenditure should be reasonable and apply equally to all candidates and political parties."
- "Reasonable limitations on campaign expenditure may be justified to ensure that the free choice of voters is not undermined or the democratic process distorted by disproportionate campaigning on behalf of any candidate or party."
- "While it is understood that elections do not always take place on a completely level playing field, reasonable limitations on campaign expenditure could be introduced to avoid disproportionate expenditure on behalf of any candidate or party. Expenditures in regard to campaign may be regulated by the election law or separate legislation dealing with public financing if campaign funds are to be provided by the state."
- "Any limits on fund-raising and campaign spending should not be so stringent that candidates are unable to pay for basic campaign costs such as salaries, transportation, office expenses, the purchase of space in the media, and the printing and distribution of campaign materials. Reasonable restrictions may include, for example, prohibitions of funding of campaign expenses from foreign sources, public corporations, or anonymous sources."
- "The Electoral Commission should…be legally empowered to prohibit certain types of expenditures so as to limit the undue impact of money on the democratic process and the outcome of an election."
- "The state should consider adopting measures to prevent excessive funding requirements of political parties and candidates, such as establishing limits on expenditure for electoral campaigns."
- "In order to ensure equality of opportunities for the different political forces, electoral campaign expenses should have a fixed ceiling."
- "Finally, regulations on election expenses should also set reasonable limits on expenditure. They should not be so low as to disable any effective political competition, nor too high to constitute a meaningful ceiling on expenses in practice."
- "Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives."
- "Political parties and candidates should be partly financed through private means. Private sources of funding may be internal or external to the party."
- "Registered voters, or citizens more generally, should be allowed to sign ballot qualification petitions of more than one party and candidate, so that citizens are free to demonstrate their support for a system of political pluralism and are free from circumstances that could become politically coercive by being called upon to demonstrate support for just one party or candidate."
- "A requirement that voters may only sign in support of one candidate or party may also be problematic. In such instances, a candidate who has collected in good faith the required number of signatures may be disqualified through no fault of his or her own because voters have signed more than one petition. In a worst case, voters may deliberately sign more than one petition in order to try to disqualify a candidate."
- "Authentic elections assume equal and fair legal conditions for registration of candidates, lists of candidates and political parties (coalitions). Registration requirements should be clear, and they should not include conditions that may become the grounds for limitations or privileges of a discriminatory nature. Any arbitrary or discriminatory application of norms for registration of political parties (coalitions), candidates, lists of candidates is not allowed."
- "The provisions for registration of political parties must not be designed to exclude political competitors."
- "‘Threshold’ requirements can…limit the representation possibilities for parties that fail to obtain a certain percentage of the vote."
- ""FAIR" [is] an electoral process where the "playing field" is reasonably level and accessible to all electors, parties and candidates..."
- "The legal framework should ensure that all political parties and candidates are able to compete in elections on the basis of equitable treatment."
- "If there are no credible opposition candidates, unreasonable restrictions on the formation or conduct of political parties or candidates, or no reasonable prospect that voters would have the power to vote incumbents out of office, then the genuineness of elections is called into question."
- "Paragraph 7.6 [of the Copenhagen Document] requires that the government provide political parties and organisations "with the necessary legal guarantees to enable them to compete with each other on a basis of equal treatment before the law and by the authorities"."
- "In the context of elections, the expression "level playing field" refers to a requirements that the election rules and regulations apply fairly to all political parties and candidates. It requires that the Electoral Commission deals openly and on equal terms with each of the political parties to enhance transparency."
- "State authorities should remain neutral in dealing with the process of establishment, registration (where applied) and activities of political parties and refrain from any measures that could privilege some political forces and discriminate others. All political parties should be given equal opportunities to participate in elections."
- "…Provide such political parties and organizations with the necessary legal guarantees to enable them to compete with each other on a basis of equal treatment before the law and by the authorities."
- "All political parties and candidates must be able to compete in elections with each other on the basis of equal treatment before the law. In addition, the law and official policies should create a level playing field for all political parties and candidates involved in the electoral processes."