367 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "The right to be elected does not mean that all citizens would have a subjective right to become a member of an elected body. Rather it means that all citizens that qualify under the provisions of the law should have not only the right but also the opportunity to stand as a candidate."
- "Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country and shall have an equal opportunity to become a candidate for election. The criteria for participation in government shall be determined in accordance with national constitutions and laws and shall not be inconsistent with the State's international obligations."
- "International human rights law explicitly proclaims the right of citizens to equal access to public office."
- "All candidates who wish to run should be able to do so."
- "The nomination process has been a vulnerable stage in election preparation. Prospective candidates have been prevented from submitting their nomination papers due to violence, procedural deficiencies and inadequate role of the courts...it is therefore recommended that technical requirements/rules should be kept to the absolute minimum."
- "The right to vote and to be voted for should be accepted as a birth right in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women."
- "SADC Member States shall adhere to the following principles in the conduct of democratic elections: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for."
- "The legal framework should clearly set forth all details on this issue for a particular election. This includes the dates for commencement and closure of registration, during what time period and how signatures are to be collected where registration is to be established by signatures, and the process of verification of registration. Where the legal framework provides for the collection of signatures, it should provide for a reasonable amount of time for collection of the signatures. The legal framework should provide for uniformity in the registration process so that the same process applies to all candidates at all levels."
- "It is unreasonable to restrict the right to vote on the ground of physical disability or to impose literacy, educational or property requirements. Party membership should not be a condition of eligibility to vote, nor a ground of disqualification."
- "Persons who are otherwise eligible to stand election should not be excluded by unreasonable or discriminatory requirements such as education, residence, or descent, or by reason of political affiliation."
- "To ensure that the will of the people serves as the basis of the authority of government, the participating States will: respect the right of citizens to seek political or public office, individually or as representatives of political parties or organizations, without discrimination."
- "Individuals should be able to stand as independent candidates as well as nominees of a political party."
- "Candidates seeking office must be permitted to run either as party candidates or individually. In countries using proportionate representation based on party list voting, parties must be allowed to include persons who are not party members on the party lists. In addition, candidates cannot be discriminated against regardless of party affiliation or lack thereof."
- "Any conditions which apply to the exercise of the rights protected by article 25 should be based on objective and reasonable criteria."
- "Any restrictions on the right to stand for election, such as minimum age, must be justifiable on objective and reasonable criteria."
- "No unreasonable limitations [should be] placed on a citizen's ability to participate in the political process, including the right to a secret vote and the right to be elected."
- "Article 25 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, for example, provides that every citizen has the right, without discrimination, to take party in the conduct of public affairs, to be elected, and to have equal access to public service in his or her country. Those rights are not absolute; however, and may be subject to a variety of reasonable limitations."
- "All such restrictions on the right to be elected must be reasonable, non-discriminatory, and must be defined clearly in law or in the constitution."
- "it is therefore recommended that technical requirements/rules should be kept to the absolute minimum."
- "It may be reasonable to require a higher age for election or appointment to particular offices than for exercising the right to vote."
- "Although some types of restrictions or qualifications on candidacies may be permissible, these should be reasonable and should not involve potentially discriminatory measures, such as a requirement to have excessive numbers of supporting signatures, or unreasonably large financial deposits."
- "The rationale for certain conditions such as age or residence is obvious: a sufficient level of maturity and connection to the community."
- "Reasonable restrictions for persons wishing to become candidates must not unjustly discriminate, and may include...having reached a higher age than the minimum voting age."
- "The same principles underlying the right to vote, applies for the right to be a candidate. Often extra restrictions are introduced for being a candidate such as having had residence in the country for some period of time before the elections, or having residence in the constituency, or having reached a higher age than the minimum voting age. Such restrictions may well be acceptable. Provisions must not be introduced for the purpose of damaging specific political forces."
- "Reasonable restrictions on persons wishing to become candidates may include a residency requirement in the country for a certain period of time, minimum support among voters, or the fact of having reached a higher age than the minimum voting age."
- "As with the right to vote, restrictions on the right to be elected must be confined to accepted criteria: age requirements, which may be somewhat higher than the legal voting age in the case of candidacies for high governmental office; citizenship requirements; reasonable residency requirements; and proportionate restrictions or disqualification in cases of findings of mental incapacity and criminal convictions."
- "The right to be elected may require an age beyond that of the age of majority."
- "Certain requirements for public office are allowed by the Covenant, but these are limited to reasonable bases, such as minimum age ... Records of discussions held during the drafting of these provisions are clear on this interpretation."
- "Reasonable restrictions for persons wishing to become candidates must not unjustly discriminate, and may include a residency requirement in the country for a certain period of time before the elections..."
- "Often extra restrictions are introduced for being a candidate such as having had residence in the country for some period of time before the elections, or having residence in the constituency…. Such restrictions may well be acceptable."
- "A residence requirement may be imposed; ii. Residence in this case means habitual residence. iii. a length of residence requirement may be imposed on nationals solely for local or regional elections; iv. the requisite period of residence should not exceed six months; a longer period may be required only to protect national minorities. "
- "Established mental incapacity may be a ground for denying a person the right…to hold office."
- "As mandated by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, member of the Committee have noted that the following limitations on voting rights are not permissible: excessive limitations on the voting rights of convicted criminals"
- "It may be reasonable to exclude any person currently serving a prison sentence for having committed a serious crime. However, loss of candidate rights should be proportional to the crime committed, and candidate rights should be automatically reinstated once the sentence has been served."
- "The Human Rights Committee has recognized that some countries have permissible legislative penalties depriving violators of certain political rights. However, in Alba Pietraroia v. Uruguay (44/1979), the committee made reference to the principle of proportionality in examining the degree of deprivation and stated that a measure as harsh as the deprivation of all political rights for a period of 15 years would have to be specifically justified."
- "If there are reasonable grounds for regarding certain elective offices as incompatible with tenure of specific positions (e.g. the judiciary, high-ranking military office, public service), measures to avoid any conflicts of interest should not unduly limit the rights protected by ICCPR, art. 25(b)."
- "In addition, it is permissible to deny qualification for candidacy to elected office those who presently hold certain other governmental offices on the basis of conflicts of interest or the doctrine of incompatibility of offices."
- "If a candidate is required to have a minimum number of supporters for nomination this requirement should be reasonable and not act as a barrier to candidacy."
- "A provision requiring would-be registered parties to obtain a certain number of signatures (between one and five hundred) as a pre-condition to acceptance was upheld as reasonable."
- "Discriminatory criteria such as education, residence, decent or political affiliation, are not acceptable, likewise to require an unreasonable number of signatures for registration."
- "Having collected a minimum number of validated signatures of registered voters. Special attention should be given to the manner of validating signatures. An invalid signature should merely be what it is—an invalid signature. It should not invalidate other signatures or the signature list."
- "The threshold level of support (such as demonstrated through the submission of petitions signed by voters) should also be reasonable (in terms of the number of signatures required, the time allowed for collection, and other procedural requirements). The process of verifying the authenticity of signatures supporting a candidacy must be reasonable and applied in a nondiscriminatory manner."
- "The electoral law should establish the procedure for the verification of signatures collected in support of candidates."
- "Where the legal framework provides for the collection of signatures, it should provide for a reasonable amount of time for collection of signatures."
- "Some countries require the fulfilment of some additional conditions for applications to be presented. In particular, they may consist of a number of signatures."
- "Conditions relating to nomination dates, fees or deposits should be reasonable and not discriminatory."
- "...[M]onetary deposits should be of a sufficient level to discourage frivolous independent candidates and political parties, but should not be so high as to prevent legitimate political parties or independent candidates from obtaining ballot access. Additionally, monetary deposits should be refundable upon a reasonable number or percentage of votes being received."
- "Monetary deposits may be of a sufficient amount to discourage frivolous candidacies but should not be so high as to prevent legitimate political parties or independent candidates from obtaining access to the ballot."
- "Monetary deposits should be of a sufficient amount to discourage frivolous political parties and independent candidates, but should not be so high as to prevent legitimate political parties and independent candidates from obtaining ballot access. Additionally, monetary deposits should be refundable upon receiving a certain number or percentage of voters. The threshold required for a refund should be reasonable."
- "The election law will require parties and candidates to formally register as contestants in an election…Registration requirements should be clear and predictable and should not involve potentially discriminatory demands such as excessive deposits or an unreasonable number of names on registration petitions."