Elections campaign financing law needs overhaul says ABEC

The Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission has recently issued a report on the general elections that took place on January 18, 2023.

The report highlights the need for an overhaul of the electoral laws governing campaign financing in the country.

According to the report, political parties are exploiting loopholes in the current laws, which makes it difficult to regulate their campaign financing activities.

The report notes that four main political parties contested the elections: the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP), the United Progressive Party (UPP), the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM), and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA).

However, it also highlights that there is an issue with the period for which the reports submitted by these parties ought to cover.

Section 43 of the Representation of the People’s (Amendment) Act of 2001 outlines how the law dictates that the reports ought to be structured.

However, the report notes that this section is silent on the commencement date of reporting, making it difficult to verify the accuracy of the reports submitted by the parties.

As a result, the report suggests that it is imperative to give necessary attention to this deficiency in the legislation to ensure that political parties are held accountable for their campaign financing activities.

The late chairman of the Commission, John Jarvis, signed the report.

A breakdown of the amounts reported by the political parties are as follows;

2023 General Elections

ABLP – $988,612.00

UPP  –   $193,500.00

BPM –   $14,000.00

DNA  –  $0

These figures declined significantly from the 2018 general elections for all the parties.

2018 General Elections

ABLP   – $2,138.979.00

UPP    –   $1,666.151.00

BPM   –   $19,000.00

DNA   –   $21,000.00

ABTLP – $0

The report of the 2023 was tabled in parliament last week during meetings of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

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