Summary
Electoral legislation should include procedures and a range of penalties aimed at preventing corruption in various sectors.
Obligations
Issues
Criteria
- The vote-counting process was transparent and observable
- The law was clear regarding the extent to which public employees could be involved in a campaign. Public employees were not coerced into voting for a particular candidate or party
- The electoral management body, as an organ of the state, implemented effective policies to discourage acts of corruption
- The electoral management body maintained and implemented policies to prevent, address, and penalize acts of corruption, including during the voting process
Quotes
- Calls upon States parties to promote the business community's engagement in the prevention of corruption by, inter alia, developing initiatives to promote and implement, where appropriate, anti-corruption measures within public procurement, consistent with article 9 of the Convention, and by working with the business community to address practices that generate vulnerability to corruption in the private sector.
- 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;
- Strongly encourages States parties to integrate anti-corruption policies to promote integrity and prevent corruption in broader crime prevention and criminal justice reform strategies, as well as in public sector reform plans.
- Calls upon States parties to use the Convention as a framework for the development of specific and tailored anti-corruption safeguards in sectors that may present an increased vulnerability to corruption.
- Calls upon States parties to promote the business community's engagement in the prevention of corruption by, inter alia, developing initiatives to promote and implement public procurement reform, working with the business community to address practices that generate vulnerability to corruption and identifying elements of optimal self-regulation in the private sector.
- Also urges States parties and signatories to the Convention to strengthen the capacity of legislators, law enforcement officials, judges and prosecutors to deal with matters relating to asset recovery, including in the areas of mutual legal assistance, confiscation, criminal confiscation and, where appropriate, non-conviction-based forfeiture in accordance with domestic law and the Convention, and civil proceedings, and to give the highest consideration to providing technical assistance in these fields, upon request.
- Also urges States parties to strengthen the capacity of legislators, law enforcement officials, judges and prosecutors on matters relating to asset recovery, and to provide technical assistance in the fields of mutual legal assistance; confiscation matters, including criminal confiscations and, where appropriate, non-conviction-based forfeiture, in accordance with national legislation; and civil proceedings.
- Calls upon States parties, where appropriate and in accordance with domestic law, to take proactive measures to ensure that individuals who have been entrusted with prominent public functions, their family members and close associates, cannot hide their illicitly acquired assets, by making relevant enquiries to determine the identity and ownership of illicitly acquired assets, freezing suspected criminal proceeds and undertaking efforts to initiate other national mechanisms of recovery, as consistent with the Convention and under domestic law, when appropriate, and encourages States parties to work with well-established networks of financial intelligence units to identify methodologies for coordinated approaches to such measures.
- Calls upon States parties to devote special attention to strengthening integrity across the entire criminal justice system, including the police, prosecution, defence counsel, judiciary, court administration, prison and probation services, and notes with appreciation the assistance provided by the Secretariat to States parties upon request in the integration of anti-corruption measures in institutions of the criminal justice system.
- Also calls upon States parties to use the Convention as a framework for the development of specific and tailored anti-corruption safeguards in sectors that may present a greater vulnerability to corruption, and requests the Secretariat to assist States parties in doing so, upon request and subject to the availability of extrabudgetary resources.
- Urges States parties to remove barriers to asset recovery by ensuring that financial institutions and, where applicable, designated non-financial services and professions adopt and implement effective standards to ensure that such entities are not being used to hide stolen assets, which may include such measures as customer due-diligence requirements, the identification and enhanced scrutiny of assets belonging to individuals who are or have been entrusted with prominent public functions and to their family members and close associates, and the collection and provision of beneficial ownership information, and by ensuring, in accordance with the Convention and domestic law, through robust regulatory action, that they adequately implement those requirements.
- Encourages States parties, in accordance with article 8, paragraph 5, of the Convention, to endeavour, where appropriate and in accordance with the fundamental principles of their domestic law, to establish and strengthen asset declaration systems applicable to public officials, aimed at the identification and resolution of conflicts of interest, and requests the Secretariat to continue its support to States parties in this regard.
- Urges Member States, consistent with chapter V of the Convention, to ensure that they have adequate laws and mechanisms in place to prosecute those involved in acts of corruption, to detect the illegal acquisition and transfer of assets derived from corruption and to ensure that there are suitable mechanisms in place - conviction- and, where appropriate, non-conviction-based - to recover through confiscation the identified proceeds of corruption, and that such laws and mechanisms are vigorously enforced.
- The national electoral law must also protect the political process from corruption, official misfeasance, obstruction, undue influence, personating, bribery, treating, intimidation and all other forms of illegal and corrupt practice. Prosecutions, procedures and penalties must respect international standards for human rights in the administration of justice.
- Sanctions should be imposed on electoral contestants who violate campaign finance regulations. Sanctions should eliminate any benefit obtained from failing to comply with the law, punish those who fail to comply and deter future non-compliance.
- Sanctions must at all times be objective, enforceable, effective and proportionate to their specific purpose. A range of sanctions may be applied, including warnings, administrative fines, partial or total loss of public funds and, in the case of significant violations, criminal prosecution.