1726 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "To allow for the effective regulation of the use of state resources, legislation should clearly define what use is permitted and what is prohibited."
- "Although a participating State has the flexibility to determine the structure of the legal framework for campaign finance, the primary instruments should be written, as opposed to being based on custom or a collection of administrative policies. Written law provides the benefit of equity, certainty, visibility and transparency. It enhances the consistent application of law and makes the matter subject to judicial interpretation and review, as well as open to recourse by citizens."
- "The rules governing campaign finance legislation should be as clear and precise as possible, including the key terminology. Interpretation of the regulations should not be a matter of subjective opinion."
- "The oversight body’s mandate and areas of responsibility should be clearly delineated to avoid conflicts of interest or overlapping jurisdiction."
- "Campaign finance rules should ensure equality of opportunity for parties and candidates alike. Special measures may be incorporated to encourage more balanced participation of underrepresented groups, such as women, national minorities or persons with disabilities."
- "Campaign finance rules should be adopted in an inclusive manner and be published and made available to the public in a timely and accessible manner."
- "Limitations on contributions can be means to minimize the possibility of corruption or the purchasing of political influence."
- "Regulations may limit the overall monetary contribution an individual or a legal entity may make to a candidate/party (quantitative restrictions). Additionally, regulations may prohibit contributions from certain sources, such as foreign persons or organizations, legal entities, state bodies or public enterprises, or anonymous donations (qualitative restrictions)."
- "Limitations on expenditures may be imposed to ensure equality of opportunities among the various political forces."
- "Limits (on contributions and spending) should be clearly defined in the law and be realistic to ensure that all electoral contestants are able to run an effective campaign, recognizing the cost of modern elections. It is good practice for limits to be indexed against inflation, rather than set as absolute amounts. "
- "When used, direct public campaign financing of political parties and, in some cases, candidates should be provided equitably and based on objective criteria."
- "It is in the interest of political pluralism to condition the provision of direct public financing on attaining a lower threshold of support than the electoral threshold for the allocation of mandates in parliament."
- "State resources should not be diverted or misused for campaign purposes. All state resources used for campaign purposes, such as media, buildings and event venues, must be made available to all electoral contestants on the basis of equal treatment, and disclosed or reported accordingly. "
- "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."
- "Legislation can also regulate whether candidates and parties are entitled to spend their own private funds, and set a limit."
- "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."
- "It is important that legislation does not unduly prohibit spending and political expression before the official start of the campaign, since the free exchange of ideas, especially political ideas, should always be allowed. However, it is possible to set certain specific limitations, provided that these are reasonable and proportionate to the objective of a fair electoral campaign. This may include prohibitions on leafleting or direct calls to voters that ask them to vote for a specific party before a given date."
- "Third parties should be free to fundraise and express views on political issues as a means of free expression, and their activity should not be unconditionally prohibited. However, it is important that some form of regulation be extended to third parties that are involved in the campaign, to ensure transparency and accountability."
- "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."
- "To ensure the effectiveness of campaign finance rules, it is critical that responsibility for supervision be given to an independent and professional regulatory body, mandated to provide guidance to electoral stakeholders, check campaign finance reports and investigate potential breaches, and that it be endowed with sanctioning power in order to promote the effective implementation of the law and ensure the accountability of all stakeholders."
- "Appointments to the regulator should be independent from political pressure, and should include checks to increase its impartiality, neutrality and financial independence."
- "The designated institution or institutions should be given the necessary financial, human and operational resources to fulfil its mandate, as well as sufficient time to undertake its duties comprehensively and effectively."
- "The more serious sanctions, such as dissolution of a party, should only be a measure of last resort, as determined by a court, in compliance with due process of law and only for the most serious violations."
- "While it is important to respect the free internal functioning of parties with regard to candidate selection and platform choices, public campaign financing may be used as a means to encourage more balanced participation of men and women as candidates."
- "Democracy requires, in particular, the holding, at regular intervals, of free, fair and transparent elections, based on the respect and exercise, without any hindrance or discrimination, of the right to freedom and physical integrity for every voter and every candidate, the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, especially through the press and other communications media, freedom of assembly and demonstration, and freedom of association."
- "Democracy presupposes the existence of political parties that have equal rights and are free to organize and to express themselves, provided their programs and actions do not call into question the fundamental values of democracy and human rights. Thus, democracy goes hand-in-hand with a multiparty system. The opposition must be guaranteed a clearly defined status free of any ostracism."
- "Democracy requires the practice of dialogue at all levels, between citizens, between social partners, between political parties, and between the State and civil society. Democracy implies participation by citizens in political life and allows them to exercise their right of control."
- "We, Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the States and Governments of Countries using French as a common language, (…) 4 - Undertake the following commitments: (…) B. For the holding of free, fair and transparent elections (...) 10. To involve all legally established political parties, those in the majority as well as those in the opposition, in all stages of the electoral process, with full respect for the democratic principles enshrined in the basic legislation and the institutions, and allow them access to funding from the State budget."
- "We, Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the States and Governments of Countries using French as a common language, (…) 4 - Undertake the following commitments: (…) B. For the holding of free, fair and transparent elections (...) 11. To take the necessary steps to move towards national financing of elections with public funds."
- "Every person with disability has the right to barrier free access to the physical environment, transportation, information, including communications technologies and systems, and other facilities and services open or provided to the public. "
- "Every person with a disability has the right to participate in political and public life. "
- "State Parties shall take all appropriate policy, legislative and other measures to ensure this right (to participate in political and public life), on the basis of equality, including through: (…) b) Encouraging the effective participation of persons with disabilities in political and public life including as members of political parties, electors and holders of political and public offices in accordance with national laws. "
- "State Parties shall take all appropriate policy, legislative and other measures to ensure this right (to participate in political and public life), on the basis of equality, including through: (…) c) Putting in place reasonable accommodations and other support measures consistent with the secrecy of the ballot, including as appropriate, accessibility of polling stations and facilitating assisted voting, for persons with disabilities to enable their effective participation in political and public life in accordance with national laws. "
- "State Parties shall take all appropriate policy, legislative and other measures to ensure this right (to participate in political and public life), on the basis of equality, including through: (…) e) Repealing or amending laws that on the basis of disability restrict the right of persons with disabilities to vote, stand for or remain in public office. "
- "The human rights model of disability recognizes that disability is a social construct and impairments must not be taken as a legitimate ground for the denial or restriction of human rights."
- "Persons with disabilities have the right to be effectively protected and to positively engage. The law itself shall guarantee the substantive equality of all those within a given jurisdiction. Thus, the recognition that all persons with disabilities are equal under the law means that there should be no laws that allow for specific denial, restriction or limitation of the rights of persons with disabilities, and that disability should be mainstreamed in all legislation and policies."
- "Reasonable accommodation duties are different from accessibility duties. Both aim to guarantee accessibility, but the duty to provide accessibility through universal design or assistive technologies is an ex ante duty, whereas the duty to provide reasonable accommodation is an ex nunc duty."
- "As an ex ante duty, accessibility must be built into systems and processes without regard to the need of a particular person with a disability, for example, to have access to a building, a service or a product, on an equal basis with others. States parties must set accessibility standards that are developed and adopted in consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities, consistent with article 4 (3) of the Convention. The duty of accessibility is a proactive, systemic duty."
- "As an ex nunc duty, reasonable accommodation must be provided from the moment that a person with a disability requires access to non-accessible situations or environments, or wants to exercise his or her rights. (…) It is important to note that the duty to provide reasonable accommodation is not limited to situations in which the person with a disability has asked for an accommodation or in which it could be proved that the alleged duty bearer was actually aware that the person in question had a disability. It should also apply in situations where a potential duty bearer should have realized that the person in question had a disability that might require accommodations to address barriers to exercising rights."
- "The duty to provide reasonable accommodation in accordance with articles 2 and 5 of the Convention can be broken down into two constituent parts. The first part imposes a positive legal obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation which is a modification or adjustment that is necessary and appropriate where it is required in a particular case to ensure that a person with a disability can enjoy or exercise her or his rights. The second part of this duty ensures that those required accommodations do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden on the duty bearer."
- "Because the gradual realization of accessibility in the built environment, public transportation and information and communication services may take time, reasonable accommodation may be used as a means to provide access to an individual in the meantime, as it is an immediate duty."
- "States parties should aim to: (…) (b) Ensure that the electoral process is accessible to all persons with disabilities, including before, during and after elections."
- "States parties should aim to: (…) (c) Provide reasonable accommodation to individual persons with disabilities and support measures based on the individual requirements of persons with disabilities to participate in political and public life."
- "Political parties can play an essential role in tackling the lack of rights awareness and encouraging active participation of persons with disabilities. They can contribute to raising awareness of the importance of inclusion and participation of all, without discrimination, in political life."
- "In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member and observer States, and States whose parliaments enjoy observer or partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly to: (...) 7.3 with regard to combating discrimination against and stigmatisation of persons with disabilities: (...) 7.3.2. encourage visibility and participation of persons with disabilities in electoral debates in the media, and the broadcasting of political programmes and debates in accessible formats."