ECJ softens stance on campaign financing

AFTER THE House of Representatives sent back its report on campaign financing because of several deficiencies in the recommendations, the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) has backed down on a proposal to limit the total amount of contribution given to a candidate by a donor in a single campaign period to $1 million.

In its August 2013 recommendations to Parlia-ment, which were tabled on Wednesday, the ECJ said a single donor should not be allowed to give more than one-tenth of the total expenditure limit to which a candidate is entitled.

The ECJ has also recommended that a single donor should not be allowed to give a political party more than five per cent of the aggregate limit of the expenditure to which a political party is entitled during a campaign period.

Another amendment sees the ECJ proposing the issue of a receipt for donations over $250,000. The original report made no mention of a figure.

In respect of an initial proposal to require all political parties, affiliate groups and or organisations, to submit an annual report to the Commission on the amount and nature of all contributions, expenditure, liabilities and assets, the ECJ has raised the trigger from $10,000 to $250,000.

However, the ECJ has not backed down on a proposal for monitoring and enforcement.

Senator KD Knight had taken issue with a proposal that "an imposition of a sanction or penalty by the Electoral Commission shall not preclude institution of criminal proceedings for contravening the campaign-financing provisions".

In the Senate, Knight argued that the provision opens up the possibility for double punishment.

However, the ECJ, in its redone report, has not changed the recommendation.