A “one size fits all” exercise is how Alternattiva Demokratika describes the proposed law on political parties financing.
AD is not happy that the Bill places heavy financial and administrative burdens on small parties, like itself, including having to employ someone.
“AD does not have the resources to shoulder these responsibilities,” deputy chairman Carmel Cacopardo said, adding that it had highlighted the issue during the public consultation but was ignored.
In the coming days, AD’s executive committee will discuss the matter prior to seeking a meeting with the Minister of Justice.
AD was also critical of the fact that the Bill still proposed the Electoral Commission as the administrator of the law.
“This is unacceptable because the Electoral Commission is directed exclusively by the two parliamentary parties to the exclusion of the rest of civil society,” Mr Cacopardo said.
It believes that when this Bill is approved, it should be administered by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life who should be elected by at least two thirds of the members of Parliament.
Mr Cacopardo was satisfied that, with the proposed amendment, the Electoral Commission would have the right to seek information on all registered political parties.
However, he said, it was still “not good enough”.
AD does not have the resources to shoulder these responsibilities
The party financing Bill, which was published in The Malta Government Gazette last week, has been decades in the making.
The new legislation will not allow donations to parties in excess of €40,000 while those over €7,000 will have to be declared by reference to their source in the party’s returns to the Electoral Commission.
It is expected to be moved in Parliament in the coming days and the government would like to have it debated before the summer recess. If approved, it will come into force on January 1.
Elected MPs have to submit a statement within 10 days of being elected and the Electoral Commission must carry out verifications within a month. The threshold for candidates’ spending has been raised to €20,000 for each district being contested in the case of a general election and €50,000 in the case of the European elections. Local councils will be allowed a maximum of €5,000.
It also provides for a constitutional amendment for a mechanism through which, when an elected candidate files a false declaration of electoral expenses or incurs expenses in excess of the amounts permissible by law, such candidate will be unseated by a decision of the Constitutional Court.