Summary
Legislation should cover fundamental issues such as sources of funding, private donations, public subsidies to political parties, the financing of election campaigns and provisions for disclosure, reporting, monitoring, and enforcement.
Obligations
Election Parts
Quotes
- [States should] ensure transparency of the electoral process, particularly in: 8.2.2. electoral campaign funding and party financing: legislation in this field is necessary not only to regulate the origin of funding and set a limit on expenditure, but also to enable all voters to have access to data on the nature and amount of campaign and party spending.
- Legislation on party financing should at least cover fundamental issues such as traditional sources of finance, private donations, public subsidies to political parties, the financing of election campaigns and provisions for disclosure, reporting, monitoring and enforcement.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- To ensure a transparent and fair financing system, and to avoid the possibility of circumventing relevant rules, both routine party funding and campaign finance must be addressed in legislation relevant to political parties and electoral campaigns in the same manner.
- States should require political parties as well as independent candidates to keep records of all direct and in-kind contributions received in a campaign period. The law should set out precisely what kind of reporting is required, including the timeframe and method of public disclosure.
- It is good practice to require the following reports: - Initial reports before the campaign begins, to ensure that accounts are properly opened (if applicable). Such reports should include the party or candidate’s bank account information and the name and function of the persons accountable for the party or candidate’s campaign finances; - Reports providing oversight bodies and the public with preliminary information on campaign incomes and expenses of parties and candidates several days before election day; - Final reports after the election and certification of results, to provide a complete and comprehensive account of all campaign financing.
- Sanctions should be applied against political parties found to be in violation of relevant laws and regulations and should be dissuasive in nature. Moreover, in addition to being enforceable, sanctions must at all times be objective, effective, and proportionate to the specific violation.
- The obligations to promote the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression require that States guarantee the transparency of all aspects of political and electoral processes, and should particularly put in place measures to: (a) Enact regulations requiring the submission of periodic financial reports by parties, political organizations and candidates, entailing full disclosure of all resources collected, in monetary form or in kind, and their origin, and all expenditure, in order to promote public scrutiny and informed voting by citizens. Political finance reporting should be comprehensive, timely, available to the public, and subject to stringent sanctions for inadequate disclosure or timeliness.