0.3 Glossary
*based in part on the IFES TIDE Political Finance Oversight Handbook
Abuse of state resources
Undue use of resources (including coercive capacities, personnel, financial, material and other resources) by incumbent political parties or elected officials to further their own prospects of election and influence the outcome of elections.
Accountability
Political/electoral actors (and entities such as the political finance oversight body) being held responsible for their actions, including infractions that occur relating to political finance regulations.
Allocation criteria
Criteria used to calculate the entitlement of public funds provided to eligible political parties or electoral contestants (can be used for either direct or indirect public funding).
Audit
An audit is an examination of the contribution and expenditure documentation, banking statements and other financial records of a political party or election contestant to assess compliance with existing auditing standards. Most countries have established auditing criteria in legislation that must be followed for a formal audit.
Campaign expenditure
Expenditures (monetary and in-kind) incurred by, or on behalf of, an electoral contestant promote it at an election, or to campaign against other particular candidates or political parties.
Campaign finance
Contributions and expenses, financial and in-kind, made to and incurred by political parties and electoral contestants for electoral campaign purposes. Such campaign expenditures could include, for example, hiring temporary offices and staff, holding electoral rallies, undertaking door-to-door campaigning, production of campaign materials, and campaign advertising in mass media.
Campaign spending limit
A maximum amount that a political party, an electoral contestant or a third party is allowed to spend on an election campaign. The limit is often related to a certain defined time period (normally the official campaign period).
Compliance assurance
The various steps and activities oversight institutions may undertake to ensure that the law is followed. It would include, for example, proactive activities such as training programmes, guidance manuals and advisory support to help those who wish to comply with the law to do so. It also would include real-time monitoring of election campaigns and compliance checking of submitted financial reports.
Compliance checking
This refers to the steps undertaken by oversight bodies to ensure that finance reports meet all legal requirements, are complete and accurate and do not reveal any violations.
Conflict of interest
Situation where a person has personal interests that could compromise their judgment and decisions (or give the appearance of doing so) and thus hinder them from acting for the common good. For example, when a governing political party is dependent on the financial support of a particular donor, the interests of that donor could or could be seen to unduly influence the policy positions and decisions taken by government officials.
Contributions
Money or donations having a pecuniary value (in-kind donations) given by an individual or a legal entity and made with the knowledge/acceptance of a political party or electoral contestant (in the case of parties) for either electoral campaign purposes or routine activities.
Contribution limit
The maximum amount of money that an individual, other entities or a political party may contribute to an electoral contestant, to a non-contestant campaigner or to a political party.
Contribution ban
Type of contributions, whose source is prohibited by law, for example, foreign or anonymous donations.
Control
Review of received financial reports by the political finance oversight body. The control is traditionally composed of 2 distinct phases: the preliminary analysis of reports to detect readily apparent problems and the in-depth control to identify potential irregularities/ violations. The goal of performing control is to generate decisions issued by the political finance oversight body on the electoral/ political actors’ compliance with political finance regulations (see also compliance checking).
Direct public funding
Money provided to political parties or electoral contestants by the government during election campaigns or for regular party financing – usually as bank transfers, but sometimes as checks – based on pre-defined eligibility and allocation criteria.
Disclosure
Requirement that electoral contestants make public the sources and amount of campaign financing and the nature of campaign expenditures through the publication of election campaign finance reports and that political parties publish their financial reports. Disclosure also entails the publication by the political finance oversight body of its audit/ monitoring findings and conclusions.
Electoral contestant
A candidate in an election, or an entity that officially nominates candidates in an election, such as a political party, coalition, list etc.
Eligibility criteria
Criteria used to determine which political parties or electoral contestants will be provided with direct or indirect public funding.
Enforceability
Legislation must be enforceable to be effective. Although legislative proposals ideally should be well-tested for enforceability before enactment, the oversight institution often is well positioned to identify issues that arise when implementing the law. Common problems that undermine enforceability include: loopholes that allow the rules to be circumvented lawfully, failure to include provisions that would help identify breaches and oversight institutions lacking adequate powers to detect and investigate potential violations.
Equality
Requirements entailing fair and equal application of election rules and regulations to all political parties and candidates with a view to levelling the playing field in order to create conditions for all electoral contestants to participate in elections with the same opportunities and under equal conditions.
Independent expenditure
Money spent on election campaigning for or against a party or an electoral contestant (e.g., advertisements , communications or other campaign activities) where the activity is not made in conjunction or coordination with any party/candidate or their campaign committee (see also non-contestant campaigner).
Indirect public funding
Resources with a monetary value that are provided to political parties or candidates by the government for the election campaign or for regular party financing, such as use of public buildings, transport or free media time.
In-kind contributions
Gifts, services, or property provided free of charge or accounted for at a price below market value.
Investigation
The process by which the political finance oversight body collects information, data and evidence to establish the facts in order to reach a view on the evidence gathered and the existence of a potential breach or offence of political finance regulations.
Legal persons
Corporations, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, political parties or foundations, and other organizations. In contrast to natural persons/individuals.
Level playing field
An electoral campaign in which there can be fair rivalry amongst the contestants. This does not mean that all electoral contestants will have identical resources but rather that the rules governing election finance and how they are implemented do not unduly advantage/disadvantage some contestants over others.
Loophole
A way of avoiding or getting around the law, usually associated with an intentional or unintentional omission or ambiguity in the law itself, or the law’s failure to cover unforeseen developments.
Monitoring
The systematic and objective observation and documentation of a an election campaign, in real time, for a defined period of time. Monitoring can be carried out by the political finance oversight body through the deployment of field monitors or by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The monitoring can be conducted in person and in real-time or through the use of new technology and social media. See also compliance checking.
Natural persons
Individuals as opposed to legal persons.
Non-contestant campaigner
Election campaign activity undertaken by a person or entity not formally connected to any electoral contestant. See also independent expenditure.
Political corruption
Abuse of entrusted power by political leaders for private or group enrichment or for the preservation of power.
(General) political party finance
Donations to political parties and expenditures made by them which are unrelated to election campaigns. Such activities could include, for example, party administration such as salaries, renting of permanent offices, training of the party members, intra-party meetings, and citizen outreach.
Policies
High level guidelines that help political finance oversight bodies frame their decision-making process and explain the bases upon which decisions are taken
Political finance oversight body/institution
Usually an independent governmental body or agency mandated to oversee the country’s political finance system. In most countries, it ensures that political parties and/or electoral contestants have access to guidance on their legal obligations and that they comply with the limitations, prohibitions and disclosure and reporting requirements. The agency has the duty to enforce obligations arising out of political finance regulations.
Procedures
Provide specific step-by-step instructions for how specified tasks are done to fulfil the agreed policies.
Public funding
The mechanism by which the State allocates money to political parties and/or electoral contestants. Public funding of political parties and election campaigns can be seen as a means to ensure that political parties have adequate funding to perform their vital role in democracy. It can also be viewed as a way to achieve greater equality of opportunity amongst political parties and electoral contestants. Public funding can be direct (see direct public funding) or indirect (see indirect public funding)
Public interest
A general term widely used to determine whether further action is warranted to ensure the well-being of the general public or address particular concerns the public might have as regards the financing of some political parties and/or election campaigns.
Record keeping
Rules and practices for keeping books, records, financial accounts and supporting documents of income and expenditure in relation to political parties’ routine activity and electoral contestants’ (and non-contestant campaigners’) election campaign activities.
Reporting
Requirement that electoral actors submit throughout the campaign or at a set time before and/or after the elections, election campaign finance reports on their campaign contributions and expenditures to an oversight body. It also entails the obligation for political parties to submit annual and/or other financial reports on their routine activities to the same (or another) oversight body.
Standard of proof
The level of certainty and the degree of evidence necessary to establish proof in a criminal or civil proceeding. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard of proof that must be met in criminal proceedings. In civil proceedings the standard of proof is proof on the balance of probabilities.
Terms of limitations
Statutes or terms of limitations are legal provisions that set the maximum amount of time that parties involved in a dispute have to initiate legal proceedings and the time limits in which sanctions might be applied. Time limits vary between countries and can vary from one jurisdiction to another and the nature of the offense/ breach.
Third party financing
See non-contestant campaigner.
Transparency
An underpinning principle of political finance regulation is that there should be clarity about where political parties, electoral contestants and non-contestant campaigners get their funding and how they spend it. Oversight institutions can serve as role-models of transparency by making public their policies, methodologies, and decisions in an accessible, consistent and timely manner.
Triage
The process, using objective criteria, of assigning priority to certain cases/complaints based on their importance when resources are limited.
Vote buying
Giving or promising to give something of value to influence how a voter votes or abstains from voting.