Watch: Toothless Electoral Commission Confirms It Cannot Fine PN For Disobeying Party Financing Law
Over the past two years, the Nationalist Party received no fewer than five reminders from the Electoral Commission to submit their accounts and donations.
However, the Commission cannot impose fines against the PN because of a legal brick wall in the Party Financing Law that hasn’t been addressed for the past seven years.
This emerged from a letter the Commission sent PL MEP candidates Daniel Attard and Marija Sara Vella Gafà, after it urged them to fine the PN for failing to publish its accounts and donations for the past two years.
“The Electoral Commission stresses that it always does its utmost to do its duties as well as possible by law and, if possible, in collaboration with parties,” the letter reads.
“However, with regards to the Party Financing law, the Commission is conditioned and limited by a constitutional sentence from 2018.”
This referred to a constitutional case the PN filed after it was fined by the Electoral Commission for accepting donations from the db Group disguised as advertising for NET TV.
The PN won the case, with the Constitutional Court declaring that, by acting as “investigator, prosecutor and judge”, the Electoral Commission breached the party’s right to a fair hearing.
Although this decision was passed seven years ago, the Party Financing Law hasn’t been updated, effectively rendering the Electoral Commission toothless when it comes to ensuring parties submit their accounts and donations.
In its letter, the Electoral Commission said it is in everyone’s interests to respect the party financing law without a threat of sanctions.
“In fact, it feels that parties should act even more responsibly to safeguard the law, considering the Electoral Commission’s hands are tied by the constitutional court.”
Attard and Vella Gafà urged the PN to obey the law and submit its accounts and donations.
“It’s useless for PN to call for resignations left, right and centre but then doesn’t have the decency to shoulder its own responsibilities,” Attard said.
Should Malta’s party financing law be updated?
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