ADVANCES IN POLITICAL PARTY FINANCING
“Concerning campaign
spending limits, the ECJ posits that ‘allowing unfettered campaign
spending enables well-financed candidates to drown out the voices of their opponents, reducing the overall quality and diversity of debate.’ ”
The resulting compromise is the insertion of a provision to enable the effective date of certain sections of the bill to be deferred.10
Concerning campaign spending limits, the ECJ posits that “allowing unfettered campaign spending enables well- financed candidates to drown out the voices of their opponents, reducing the overall quality and diversity of debate.”11 Prior recognition of this principle is evident in section 55 of the Representation of the People Act, which prescribes the total amount of expenditure that may be incurred in relation to the candidature of any person at any election. This represents another area in which local laws and their underlying principles accord with international norms, as the United Nations Human Rights Committee in General Comment No. 25 (27) on Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights acknowledges that “reasonable limitations on
campaign expenditure may be justified where this is necessary to ensure that the free choice of voters is not undermined or the democratic process distorted by the disproportionate expenditure on behalf of any candidate or party.”
The measures and
achievements outlined above demonstrate Jamaica’s commitment to justice and fair play in the practice of parliamentary democracy and in relation to the electoral process in particular. The mechanisms established to preserve the system have led to gradual but significant improvement in the climate surrounding the conduct of elections and increased faith
in their integrity and results. With heightened regulation in respect of political party financing, there will be even greater confidence that there is equity in the distribution and use of funds in the preparatory phase leading up to elections and that no political party has been placed at a disadvantage solely on account of economic factors.
References 1
The Electoral Commission
(Interim) Act, 2006, section 5 2
Electoral Commission of Jamaica (2013) Report to Parliament on Campaign Financing – Revised
Recommendations, pp. 8-9 3
OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission (2010) Guidelines on
The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue Three | 167
Political Party Regulation, p.35 4
Ibid, p.38
Electoral Commission of Jamaica (2010) Report to Parliament on Political Party Registration and
5
Financing, p.8 6
7 8
Electoral Commission of Jamaica (2013) Report to Parliament on Campaign Financing – Revised
9
Recommendations, p.2 10
The Representation of the
People Act, 2014, section 1(2) 11
Electoral Commission of
Jamaica (2013) Report to Parliament on Campaign Financing – Revised Recommendations, p.14
Ibid, p.9 Ibid. Ibid.
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