552 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "An information officer may refuse a request where the release of the information is likely to endanger the life, health or safety of an individual. "
- "An information officer may refuse to grant access to information where to do so would cause substantial prejudice to the security or defence of the state. "
- "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. This includes the expression of identity or personhood through speech, deportment, dress, bodily characteristics, choice of name, or any other means, as well as the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, including with regard to human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, through any medium and regardless of frontiers. "
- "It is prohibited to impose limitations on the rights and freedoms guaranteed by virtue of this Charter unless where prescribed by law and considered necessary to protect national and economic security, or public order, or public health, or morals, or the rights and freedoms of others."
- "Each public body and relevant private body must publish the following information produced by or in relation to that body within 30 days of the information being generated or received by that body: manuals, policies, procedures or rules or similar instruments which have been prepared for, or are used by, officers of the body in discharging that body’s functions, exercising powers and handling complaints, making decisions or recommendations or providing advice to persons outside the body with respect to rights, privileges or benefits, or to obligations, penalties or other detriments, to or for which persons may be entitled. "
- "Where a person (a) wishes to make a request to an information holder; or (b) has made a request to an information holder that does not comply with the requirements of this Act, the information officer must take all necessary steps to assist the person, free of charge, to make the request in a manner that complies with this Act. "
- " Subject to subsections 6(b) and (c), a requester does not have to provide a justification or reason for requesting any information. "
- "Although the Committee considers that, even if in some circumstances denial of access to State-owned or State-controlled distribution services may amount to an interference with rights protected by article 19, in the present case, the author has not provided sufficient information that would permit the Committee to evaluate the extent of the interference or to determine whether the denial of such access is discriminatory. The Committee further notes that in any event, even if the newspaper in question was not included in the “Belpochta” subscription list and was not delivered to his home address by mail, the author was able to obtain it by other means. "
- "In order to make electoral laws and election materials accessible for all citizens it is important that these public documents [electoral laws] are published in all officially recognised and protected minority languages. "
- "Voter education is an integral, albeit sometimes neglected, part of the election process. It refers to basic information on elections (e.g. date and type of elections) and explanations of electoral procedures (voter registration, voting system, etc.), and usually also addresses the voters’ motivation and preparedness to participate fully in the elections. Voter education is especially important in emerging and new democracies and in situations where new electoral provisions or technologies are being applied for the first time. As far as referendums are concerned, the voters must be objectively and comprehensively informed both about the question submitted to the electorate in the referendum and its consequences. "
- "Safeguards might be introduced to protect citizens’ right to privacy. In order to protect private data some countries have introduced restrictions concerning the public access to voters lists. "
- "Broadcasting and print media are generally the most important way that citizens find out about elections and electoral choices. Thus, the mass media play an important role in the pre-election period. This role is two-fold: Firstly, the media (should) inform the electorate by covering candidates, parties, and political issues relevant to elections in news and special information programmes. This might include even voter education tools. Secondly, they (should) grant candidates and parties direct access to the electorate by allowing political advertisement. "
- "Fulfilment of the following criteria is essential if electoral registers are to be reliable: iii. electoral registers must be public "
- "Both national and international observers should be given the widest possible opportunity to participate in a referendum observation exercise. "
- "Observation must not be confined to election day itself, but must include the referendum campaign and, where appropriate, the voter registration period and the signature collection period. It must make it possible to determine whether irregularities occurred before, during or after the vote. It must always be possible during vote counting. "
- "Observers should be able to go everywhere where operations connected with the referendum are taking place (for example, vote counting and verification). The places where observers are not entitled to be present should be clearly specified by law, with the reasons for their being banned. "
- "State authorities must observe their duty of neutrality. In particular, this concerns: i. media."
- "State authorities must observe their duty of neutrality. In particular, this concerns: ii. billposting; "
- "[P]olling stations must include representatives of a number of parties, and the presence of observers appointed by the candidates must be permitted during voting and counting. "
- "[C]ounting must be transparent. Observers, candidates' representatives and the media must be allowed to be present. These persons must also have access to the records."
- "There should be an administrative procedure – subject to judicial control – or a judicial procedure enabling electors not on the register to have their names included. In some countries, the closing date for entry in the supplementary register may be, for example, 15 days before the election or election day itself. The latter case, whilst admirably broad-minded, relies on decisions made by a court obliged to sit on polling day, and is thus ill-suited to the organisational needs on which democracies are based. In any event polling stations should not be permitted to register voters on election day itself. "
- "Furthermore, inaccuracies in electoral registers stem both from unjustified entries and from the failure to enter certain electors. A procedure of the kind mentioned in the previous paragraph should make it possible for electors to have erroneous entries corrected. The capacity for requesting such corrections may be restricted to electors registered in the same constituency or at the same polling station. "
- "Public authorities also have certain positive obligations. They must submit lawfully presented candidatures to the citizens’ votes. The presentation of specific candidatures may be prohibited only in exceptional circumstances, where necessitated by a greater public interest. Public authorities must also give the electorate access to lists and candidates standing for election by means, for instance, of appropriate billposting. The information in question must also be available in the languages of national minorities, at least where they make up a certain percentage of the population. Voters’ freedom to form an opinion may also be infringed by individuals, for example when they attempt to buy votes, a practice which the state is obliged to prevent or punish effectively. "
- "It is important that the polling station officials include multi-party representatives and that observers assigned by the candidates be present. "
- "The vote counting should be conducted in a transparent manner. It is admissible that voters registered in the polling station may attend; the presence of national or international observers should be authorised. These persons must be allowed to be present in all circumstances. There must be enough copies of the record of the proceedings to distribute to ensure that all the aforementioned persons receive one; one copy must be immediately posted on the notice-board, another kept at the polling station and a third sent to the commission or competent higher authority. "
- "The relevant regulations should stipulate certain practical precautions as regards equipment. For example, the record of the proceedings should be completed in ballpoint pen rather than pencil, as text written in pencil can be erased. "
- "In practice, it appears that the time needed to count the votes depends on the efficiency of the presiding officer of the polling station. These times can vary markedly, which is why a simple tried and tested procedure should be set out in the legislation or permanent regulations which appear in the training manual for polling station officials. "
- "There are two kinds of results: provisional results and final results (before all opportunities for appeal have been exhausted). The media, and indeed the entire nation, are always impatient to hear the initial provisional results. The speed with which these results are relayed will depend on the country’s communications system. The polling station’s results can be conveyed to the electoral district (for instance) by the presiding officer of the polling station, accompanied by two other members of the polling station staff representing opposing parties, in some cases under the supervision of the security forces, who will carry the records of the proceedings, the ballot box, etc. "
- "However much care has been taken at the voting and vote-counting stages, transmitting the results is a vital operation whose importance is often overlooked; it must therefore be effected in an open manner. Transmission from the electoral district to the regional authorities and the Central Electoral Commission – or other competent higher authorities – can be done by fax. In that case, the records will be scanned and the results can be displayed as and when they come in. Television can be used to broadcast these results but once again, too much transparency can be a dangerous thing if the public is not ready for this kind of piecemeal reporting. The fact is that the initial results usually come in from the towns and cities, which do not normally or necessarily vote in the same way as rural areas. It is important therefore to make it clear to the public that the final result may be quite different from, or even completely opposite to, the provisional one, without there having been any question of foul play. "
- "In the long-standing democracies where there are no electoral commissions but where another impartial body is competent in electoral matters, political parties must be able to observe the work of that body. "
- "The meetings of the central electoral commission should be open to everyone, including the media (this is another reason why speaking time should be limited). Any computer rooms, telephone links, faxes, scanners, etc. should be open to inspection."
- "Observation is not confined to the actual polling day but includes ascertaining whether any irregularities have occurred in advance of the elections (e.g. by improper maintenance of electoral lists, obstacles to the registration of candidates, restrictions on freedom of expression, and violations of rules on access to the media or on public funding of electoral campaigns), during the elections (e.g. through pressure exerted on electors, multiple voting, violation of voting secrecy, etc.) or after polling (especially during the vote counting and announcement of the results). Observation should focus particularly on the authorities’ regard for their duty of neutrality. "
- "Generally, international as well as national observers must be in a position to interview anyone present, take notes and report to their organisation, but they should refrain from making comment."
- "The law must be very clear as to what sites observers are not entitled to visit, so that their activities are not excessively hampered. For example, an act authorising observers to visit only sites where the election (or voting) takes place could be construed by certain polling stations in an unduly narrow manner"
- "First of all, funding must be transparent; such transparency is essential whatever the level of political and economic development of the country concerned. Transparency operates at two levels. The first concerns campaign funds, the details of which must be set out in a special set of carefully maintained accounts. In the event of significant deviations from the norm or if the statutory expenditure ceilings are exceeded, the election must be annulled. The second level involves monitoring the financial status of elected representatives before and after their term in office. A commission in charge of financial transparency takes formal note of the elected representatives’ statements as to their finances. The latter are confidential, but the records can, if necessary, be forwarded to the public prosecutor’s office. "
- "[Consider] signing and ratifying or acceding to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other core international human rights treaties. "
- "Tak[e] all necessary measures to eliminate laws, regulations and practices that discriminate, directly or indirectly, against citizens in their right to participate in public affairs on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, or on the basis of disability. "
- "Tak[e] proactive measures to eliminate all barriers in law and in practice that prevent or hinder citizens, in particular women, persons belonging to marginalized groups or minorities, persons with disabilities and persons in vulnerable situations, from participating fully in effectively in political and public affairs, including, inter alia, reviewing and repealing measures that unreasonably restrict the right to participate in public affairs, and considering adopting, on the basis of reliable data on participation, temporary special measure, including legislative acts, aimed at increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in all aspects of political and public life; "
- "The right to information is hereby guaranteed in accordance with the following principles:Every person has the right to access information of public bodies and relevant private bodies expeditiously and inexpensively."
- "To ensure a transparent and fair campaign finance system, both routine political party financing and campaign financing must be considered in the legislation."
- "The law should clearly establish timeframes for which campaign finance regulations are applicable, including dates for reporting and disclosure, and statutes of limitations for violations."
- "For campaign finance laws or regulations to be meaningful, it is essential for them to require disclosure through clear, detailed and periodic reporting on contributions and expenditures."
- "Legislation should regulate in-kind contributions, such as subsidized advertising and printing, office and equipment rental. Good practice is followed if legislation defines how in-kind contributions are valued, for example based on market prices. Additionally, if an individual or legal entity forgives an outstanding debt for goods or services, this should be considered an in-kind contribution, subject to the limitations that apply to contributions and, where applicable, counting towards expenditure limits."
- "The legal framework should clarify the rules governing loans extended to political parties and candidates to finance their campaigns. "
- "It is good practice to permit only bank loans and credit-card debts, and not loans from other corporations or from individuals."
- "States should require parties and candidates to maintain records and report on all direct and in-kind contributions, as well as all campaign expenditures during a campaign period."
- "The deadline for submitting the final report to the oversight body should be precisely defined in the law. It is critical that the timeframe be sufficient to allow those with reporting obligations time to assemble the information, yet not too long, to allow the oversight body to undertake a thorough and expedient auditing and, where necessary, initiate proportionate and timely sanctions."
- "It is good practice for authorities to introduce a standard template and guidance for reporting, which enables timely analysis and meaningful comparison between different parties and candidates. (…) Further, reporting formats should include the itemization of all contributions and expenditures into standardized categories as defined by the regulations. Itemized reporting should include the date and amount of each transaction, as well as copies of proof of the transaction (for example, receipts, checks, bank transfers and loan agreements). "
- "Disclosure rules should clearly define who is subject to these requirements, what has to be disclosed and when. This information should be made public by the candidate or party and/or the oversight body, preferably on the Internet and in a user-friendly format."
- "Reports should be made publicly available without unnecessary delay, and be easy to understand. It is important that the law establish clear and timely deadlines for oversight bodies to publish reports and ensures that they are easily accessible to the public for an extended period of time. It is an increasingly good practice to publish reports on the Internet in a standardized and searchable format, as well as through newspapers with a high circulation. Electoral contestants may also publish their reports directly as an additional measure of transparency."