The Question

This question is posed on behalf of Frank Vassallo, member of the Practitioners' Network.

Ballot access for a particular election is usually granted when a political party, coalition, bloc, or independent candidate meets one or more requirements. In many countries, the legal framework requires the support of a nomination by the collection of signatures. In these cases, a minimum number of validated signatures of registered voters have to be collected. 

In many countries, registered voters may only sign in support of one candidate or party in a particular election.

Are there examples where registered voters may sign in support of more than one candidate or party in a particular election?

Summary of Responses

PN members diverged in their experiences and viewpoints on this question. However, members overwhelmingly noted restrictions on supporting more than one candidate or party in a particular election.

Members from several countries shared restrictions on registered voters supporting multiple parties or candidates.  These countries included Uganda, Zimbabwe, Australia, and Rwanda.  Furthermore, one PN member from Burundi cautioned against allowing voters to support more than one candidate in fragile democracies prone to electoral and political conflict.

The majority of members, however, suggested that such restrictions violate democratic principles and conflict with principles such as freedom of expression and secrecy of the vote. Supporting this view, one member (experiencing these regulations across countries he had worked in) shared the OSCE’s Guidelines on Political Party Regulation, which in Paragraph 77 states:

“In order to enhance pluralism and freedom of association, legislation should not limit a citizen to signing a supporting list for only one party. Such a limitation is too easily abused and can lead to the disqualification of parties who in good faith believed they had fulfilled the requirements for registration.”

Only one country, India, was cited as an instance where voters were allowed to support more than one candidate or party.

External Resources

• Guidelines on Political Party Regulation (OSCE)

• Handbook for Returning Officers (Election Commission of India)

• Francisco Barrera

• Silver Byanyima Mugyenyi

• Vasil Vashchanka

• Mauel Wally

• Dr. Noor Mohammad

• Laila Mudadi

• Idd Kaahwa

• Bucumi Julius

• Christine Ndayishimiye

• Victor Hugo Ajila

• Denise Nzisabira

• Enrique Lopez Sanavia

• Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre

El tema de poder firmar o apoyar a mas de un candidato, depende de las regulaciones de los países respecto a la participación ciudadana, pero si está establecido que solo un ciudadano puede apoyar a un candidatos,  debe existir la forma de verificar que cada ciudadano exista en una base de datos, donde se pueda confrontar la información de nombres, firmas, datos complementarios y si es posible la huella que individualice a la persona (verificación biométrica), que serian los datos a recoger en caso de iniciar la recolección de respaldos ciudadanos

 Debe tenerse en cuenta una identificacion de militantes por partidos de lo contrario se daria el caso de que en momentos diferentes sean los mismos que apoyen a diferntes candidatos

In Uganda, the Law is very clear that any registered voter who wishes to support the nomination of a candidate as a seconder, proposer, will do it for only and only one candidate.

In the same vain, a voter signing for supporters forms for a candidate or party, does it once. This is controlled by the Biometric system where by voters are checked on the data base to confirm that they are registered voters. Signing for more than one candidate or party can lead to disqualification from participating in Elections. This can happen especially at closure of nominations or registration and a candidate or party does not have any replacement immediately.  The argument is that it undermines democracy of one man or woman one vote, one man or woman, one registration, also to avoid confusion to electorate during campaigns of who supports who or campaigns for who? it can result into conflicts and hatred.

Silver Mugyenyi, Electoral Commission, Uganda

Prohibition to sign in support of more than one party or candidate is at odds with important international principles of democratic elections. The overall principle for nomination phase is that of facilitating broad access, in order to give real affect to the right to be elected. Singature collection requirements should not be too onerous. Even more importantly, forcing voters to commit to the support of only one party or candidate prior to the election does not sit well with the obligation to ensure secrecy of the vote.

I reproduce below the extracts from the Returning Officers Handbook - Elections in India:

5.39 The candidate or his proposer is not required to write his name in full by way of signature. It is not obligatory that the signature on the nomination paper should tally exactly with the full name of the person as printed in the electoral roll. If he adopts his usual form of signature e.g., one or more initial letters followed by the surname, it should be treated as valid signature for the purposes of the Act.

5.40 A proposer can sign more than one nomination paper of the same candidate or of different candidates.

5.41 If a candidate or his proposer is unable to write his name to signify his signature, he shall be deemed to have signed the nomination paper, if he has placed a mark on that paper in the presence of the RO or such officer as may be specified in this behalf by the Election Commission and such officer on being satisfied as to the identity of that person. The Commission has specified every officer belonging to an administrative service not below the rank of sub-divisional officer as an officer in whose presence such mark may be placed.

This reply is posted on behalf of Laila Mudadi.

The constitution only talks of registered voters signing for the aspiring candidate/party they support, hence to cross over in support of more than one party might seem unrealistic to the contesting parties. Whilst the possibility for vote buying can be true some aspiring candidates might approach voters (promising tokens or anything) who will have signed in support of the other political party to sign in his/her support.

The possible example however, in our country (Zimbabwe) is when the registered voter (s) signs for candidates at different levels in the scenario of the Harmonised elections. The same voter can sign for the aspiring candidate for the Local Authority and can also sign in support of the National House of Assembly or the Presidential candidate within the same party. 

In Uganda, party/candidate endorsement for purposes of nominations or even being an official candidate's agent is by one registered voter, The law is however silent about the political affiliation of that registered voter.Supporting more than one candidate/party vying for the same elective position is reason enough for a Returning officer to reject nomination papers for that candidate under Ugandan electoral laws.

At different elective levels,a  voter can support any number of candidates

In Australia, electoral laws allow a registered voter to endorse/support more than one candidate/party.It also follows during casting votes.If there are 5 candidates from different parties,a voter castes for his/her most favorite,then next favorite and so....on.

Additional infor about the Australian electoral system can be found on www.aec.au

In Burundi, a number of 200 persons has to be met to support each candidate for presidential elections.  Each political party or independent candidate, willing to contest presidential elections has to present one candidate to the EMB wiht a surerity( caution) of 15.000.000 buruni francs non refundable if the candidates get less than 5% of votes at national level.

Each candidate has to be supported by  200 persons at national level.  Any of the 200 persons must fulfill the requirements of a candidate in legislative elections. Therefore, 200 files have to be collected and brought to the EMB approbation.

This is the only case where collection of signitures is required to support candidates in elections.

It i a difficult exercise for the EMB to go through 200 files in a short time and this is one of the points detected to be amended for the 2015 electoral law.

Julius BUCUMI,

Inspector of Justice, Burundi

Christine NDAYISHIMIYE du Burundi

Je pense personnellement que permettre à un votant de soutenir plus d'un candidat par apposition de sa signature pourrait être à l'origine des conflits difficiles à gérer surtout dans nos démocraties encore fragiles. Par ailleurs voter c'est opérer un choix.

Thanks for everyone who has replied so far. There is certainly variance in the replies, if not complete opposing views which I find very interesting. Whilst my experiences, including in my home country of Australia the requirement is that a voter can only support one candidate in one election. The premise here is that supporter are "nominating" a person who they want to represent them in parliament and therefore are saying they are voting for that candidate. One person one vote translates to one person on nomination.

I accept that there are arguments regarding the secrecy of the vote and all that comes with publicly declaring your support for one candidate; however it is common for individuals to declare their support for a particular candidate and that is done all the time but large numbers of voters throughout the world. I therefore do not accept the argument for allowing voters to support two or more candidates in one election. That said this is not my question and our personal beliefs/preferences is not what I am looking for.

I was hoping to find clear examples where the electoral law clearly allows voters to sign more than one nomination application in one election. By this I am looking for instances where there are more than one election taking place such as Presidential, Parliamentary and perhaps even local elections simultaneously. Clearly one voter can support a candidate in each election.

I am still hopeful that perhaps someone might be able to provide an example.

Thank you again for your contributions so far.

Frank

Hola Frank: quizá te sirva este caso.

En Ecuador, la Ley Electoral (Código de la Democracia) permite a los electores, entre otras cosas, lo siguiente:

1. Para pertenecer a un partido político debe afiliarse (es lo más formal). No puede estar afiliado a dos o más partidos.

2. Si puede apoyar la creación de un movimiento político de menor ámbito (se apoya la creación solo con la firma, no adquiere derechos ni obligaciones; es un simpatizante)

3. Si desea adquirir derechos y obligaciones en una organización política diferente a la que pertenece, debe desafiliarse de la primera.

4. En la votación, cuando se trata de elecciones pluripersonales (asamblea, consejos municipales, parlamentarios andinos) se aplica la modalidad de lista abierta; es decir, el elector puede escoger el número de candidatos entre los distintos partidos.

Si requieres información adicional quedo a sus órdenes.

Saludos cordiales

In my country as in yours, voters may sign in support of only one party or candidate. It's the same in Rwanda, in Tanzania, in Uganda and also in Kenya.

Al respecto del planteamiento:

Lo ordinario es que un ciudadano en el ejercicio del voto activo, sufrague por un candidato registrado y postulado por un partido politico, como prerrogativa del voto pasivo. 

Lo extraordinario en que un ciudadano vote al mismo tiempo por dos o mas candidatos, en tanto lo permita la ley, porque mientras haya votos validos, votos nulos y votos de candidatos no registrados o independientes, luego hay que ceñirse a las reglas establecidas. 

Cuestion extraordinaria es que un ciudadano vote por los candidatos no registrados o canidatos independientes, porque rompe con el nucleo monopolico de los partidos politicos contendientes en una eleccion. En este mismo sentido, aquel ciudadano que vota por un candidato comun, producto de las alianzas o coaliciones de los partidos politicos, que unen sus fuerzas para consolidar una sola candidatura, define  su preferencia al momento de expresar el voto y cruzar un recuadro de la boleta donde aparezca el nombre similar del candidato postulado. En mexico, desde 1918 se contemplan los candidatos no registrados. La norma posterior contemplo a los candidatos comunes y a los candidatos independientes, empero los ultimos se suprimieron  y se retrocedio un paso en la ruta democratica. Sin embargo, los legisladores pugnan, en la reforma constitucional, por rescatar esta figura politica ante la fuerza de los derechos humanos fundamentales que exigen su rango dispositivo.

This reply is posted on behalf of the Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre.

As per the Indian Election Laws nomination paper is required to be filed by anyone who is filed by individual candidates before the Returning Officer for the election.  In case the candidate is sponsored by a political party recognised by the Election Commission of India then his nomination is required to be signed in support by a registered elector of the constituency concerned. Candidates sponsored by other political parties or independents have to get signature of 10 registered electors of the constituency  in support of his candidature. There is no prohibition that one registered voter cannot sign in support of more than one candidate in a particular election.