367 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "One reason why parties and candidates must register is to ensure that party names and symbols are unique, which would otherwise cause confusion. Election authorities also need to know which parties and candidates are running for office, so that they can be included on the ballot."
- "The legal framework may provide a structure for the registration of political parties. The legal framework should clearly provide for notification of the dates for commencement and closure of registration, or provide that such registration could be continuously open; specify when, how and where registration procedures must be undertaken; and set out the process of verification of registration… The legal framework should provide for uniformity in the registration process so that the same process applies to all political parties at all levels. The grounds for rejection of a registration application should be based on objective criteria and clearly stated in the legal framework for elections, along with avenues of appeal against such rejection."
- "[Political parties] are thus a specific kind of association, which in many countries is submitted to registration for participation in elections or for public financing. This requirement of registration has been accepted, considering it as not per se contrary to the freedom of association, provided that conditions for registration are not too burdensome."
- "[Restrictions on registering parties]... should not compromise or violate the basic democratic rights for registering parties. If the demands for the registering authority are too stringent, then people’s democratic rights of association and right to stand for office could be jeopardised."
- "Registration as a necessary step for recognition of an association as a political party, for a party’s participation in general elections or for public financing of a party does not per se amount to a violation of rights protected under Articles 11 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Any requirements in relation to registration, however, must be such as are ‘necessary in a democratic society’ and proportionate to the objective sought to be achieved by the measures in question."
- "[Political parties] are thus a specific kind of association, which in many countries is submitted to registration for participation in elections or for public financing. This requirement of registration has been accepted, considering it as not per se contrary to the freedom of association, provided that conditions for registration are not too burdensome. And requirements for registration are very different from one country to another: they may include, for instance, organisational conditions, requirement for minimum political activity, of standing for elections, of reaching a certain threshold of votes... However, some pre-conditions for registration of political parties existing in several Council of Europe Member States requiring a certain territorial representation and a minimal number of members for their registration could be problematic in the light of the principle of free association in political parties."
- "Countries applying registration procedures to political parties should refrain from imposing excessive requirements for territorial representation of political parties as well as for minimum membership. Matters of internal organisation of political parties, in principle, should not be subject to control by public authorities."
- "The prohibition or dissolution of political parties as a particularly far-reaching measure should be used with utmost restraint. Before asking the competent judicial body to prohibit or dissolve a party, governments or other state organs should assess, having regard to the situation of the country concerned, whether the party really represents a danger to the free and democratic political order or to the rights of individuals and whether other, less radical measures could prevent the said danger."
- "The state and its citizens are both entitled to support political parties."
- "The state should provide support to political parties."
- "Such political parties may seek out and receive funds by means of public or private financing."
- "The state should provide support to political parties and candidates in order to prevent dependence on private financial donors and guarantee equality of chances."
- "State support may be financial."
- "State support may be financial."
- "Parties in modern democracies cannot reasonably be expected to raise all necessary monetary income themselves. A role should therefore be granted to the state to provide financial support to political parties. State support can help parties meet the ever-increasing cost of democratic politics and can compensate for the scarcity of internal financing."
- "The state may contribute – directly or indirectly – to the operational cost of party activity, election campaigns and the functioning of parliamentary party groups."
- "State support should be limited to reasonable contributions."
- "Objective, fair and reasonable criteria should be applied regarding the distribution of state support."
- "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:...(2) non-monetary support (free media time, material, or use of office space or other facilities, transportation, etc.) distributed to electoral participants through eligibility standards that are fair to emerging political forces but do not encourage participation merely to receive such benefits."
- "Regulations should specify equal access to state resources and prevent arbitrary administrative action which limits campaigning opportunities."
- "The fairness of a campaign will be undermined where state resources are unreasonably used to favour the campaign of one candidate or political party. State resources – such as the use of public buildings for campaign events – should be available on an equitable basis to all contestants."
- "Where state funds are provided for campaign purposes, they should be disbursed on a fair, equitable and timely basis."
- "The rationale for public funding of political parties and election expenses is usually linked to the desirability of establishing, as far as possible, a ‘level playing field.’"
- "The use of public assets and funds for political party purposes should be regulated in order to level the playing field for political competition."
- "Clearly, a free and fair election is less likely if the government denies financial resources to its opponents, while using all the resources at its disposal to put the opposition at a disadvantage. Equally, in theory at least, unlimited expenditure by any party can result in a distorted electoral process. The art is to find that balance which best accommodates the objective of allowing each party a reasonable opportunity to put across its message; this may well entail a combination of public funding with election expenditure controls."
- "The level playing field metaphor is used to describe a process that protects equal treatment and fair opportunity. It is evaluated by considering, among other issues: (1) the degree to which competitors are afforded equitable access to…media access and news coverage."
- "This does not mean that all political parties and candidates are to receive an equal amount of campaign funds. This only means that political parties and candidates should be provided public funding on the basis of equal treatment before the law."
- "The electoral law should prohibit the Government to aid or to abet any party gaining unfair advantage."
- "Where a policy decision is taken to financially support political parties with taxpayers’ money, which is necessitated by the poor resource background of most political parties, an agreed upon formula must be used and adhered to in allocating funds to the contesting parties. A commonly used formula is according to the number of seats each party holds in Parliament."
- "Objective, fair and reasonable criteria should be applied regarding the distribution of state support."
- "The levels of political support should be calculated on the basis of objective criteria. The criteria most frequently used are the number of votes cast for a party, the number of parliamentary seats obtained or a combination of the two."
- "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."
- "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."