Clear guidelines should be adopted by the CEC in relation to the mechanism for monitoring campaign financing. The guidelines should include full details on the methods of reporting and the frequency of reports. The CEC should clarify whether the financial reports will be audited. The reports should be published.

The CEC should adopt formal regulations relating to campaigning to allow for candidates and supporters to be fully aware of exactly what campaigning activities can be undertaken. In particular, there should be clear regulation as to what amounts to campaigning at mosques and other specified locations. Separately, the CEC and civil society should consider formalising the Code of Conduct for campaigning to cover all elections.

Se sugiere fortalecer los mecanismos existentes además de introducir un código de conducta para incentivar a los partidos a que participen en una campaña menos negativa, y más respetuosa hacia la ciudadanía.

While maintaining the policy of limiting large outdoor meetings, campaign hours, currently limited to 6:00 pm, should be extended in order to allow candidates to reach more voters.

The Election Authorities should look at extending the campaign period from the time of the opening nominations, with 'socialisation' banned before this date, allowing for the distribution of campaign literature, small indoor group meetings and possible door-to-door visits, before large outdoor meetings and other public events are authorised.

La MOE-UE recomienda que se suspenda durante la campaña electoral todo tipo de promoción institucional de los gobiernos nacional, departamentales y locales. Dicha medida está considerada internacionalmente como una buena práctica electoral. Además, evitaría potenciales incumplimientos del artículo 120 del Código Electoral, que prohíbe la publicidad de obras públicas en períodos electorales.

Etablir un mode de contribution publique au financement des campagnes électorales réaliste et adapté, basé, par exemple, sur un remboursement partiel des frais de campagne sur base des résultats obtenus. Il est à noter que l’instauration d’un mode de financement public des campagnes électorales ouvre également une possibilité de sanctionner effectivement les dépassements de plafonds.

Revoir les dispositions relatives à l’organisation de la campagne électorale, d’une part pour en accroître la durée d’au moins une semaine (les dates officielles n’ont généralement pas été respectées et les candidats les plus significatifs avaient dans les faits entamés des activités dites « de précampagne » plusieurs jours, voire semaines, à l’avance) et d’autre part pour réglementer la période précédant l’ouverture officielle également en ce qui concerne les activités non couvertes par les médias.

Consideration could be given to including maximum amounts in the law on the amount of donations that a candidate or a party may receive, or the amount that they may spend on their campaign. Such limits are commonly provided in other countries, in order to prevent richer parties or candidates out-spending all others.

Announcements about public spending or the launch of public projects should not be made by candidates during electoral campaign periods. It was inappropriate for the government to announce the disbursement of significant funds to village chiefs just three days before the second round presidential election, as was the signing of ‘contracts’ between village chiefs and FRETILIN during the parliamentary elections.

The Election Laws should to be amended to make it an electoral offence to use state resources in campaigning. There also needs to be adequate provision to prevent civil servants from participating in electoral campaigns. Both of these matters were prohibited by the Campaign Regulation but no sanction was provided for their breach.

Il est important de mettre en oeuvre la réglementation existante sur le financement des campagnes électorales et d’instaurer des mécanismes de contrôle efficace dans ce domaine afin de corriger les inégalités importantes constatées dans les moyens utilisés par les candidats.

Infringement of laws and regulations concerning the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns should be subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions. Greater steps should be made by INEC and the relevant prosecuting authorities to initiate criminal proceedings for serious violations.

The EU EOM believes that it would be highly recommendable to open-up a period of public debate on the convenience of reducing the duration of the electoral campaign, which is currently set at four months. Independently of the economic costs that are linked to such a prolonged campaign period (especially if there is a second round in the presidential elections), such lengthy campaigns inevitably generate considerable fatigue both among political actors as well as the voters themselves. Above all, such long campaign periods reduce the possibility of carrying out an effective campaign for those political parties with more limited financial resources.

The EU EOM considers the need for an increase in the sanctioning monetary fines for the violation of regulations on electoral propaganda, to the extent, that in practice, they may serve as a deterrent to prevent political organisations from committing such violations.

An extension of campaign hours by the Electoral Commission would facilitate greater public participation at campaign meetings and events. Any regulations on campaign hours should be rigorously and consistently enforced.

The use of state security forces to assist with the electoral processes in a logistical and security fashion is to be welcomed and encouraged. State security forces, however, including police, should maintain an institutional and physical separation from electoral events. This includes not checking voter or ID documents, or indeed being present at voter registration centres/polling centres in a conspicuous and intimidatory manner. The intervention of police and military forces in electoral events should be upon the request of EMB officials only, or where there is a real threat to public order.

The complete separation of civil servants from election campaigns of political parties would be strengthened by a statutory provision clearly stipulating that no civil servant including Permanent Secretaries and District Commissioners are allowed to participate in campaign activities. Appropriate guidelines for civil servants during election periods could be issued by a special committee to be established within the Public Service Management Division of the Cabinet Office.

Clearer regulation and cataloguing of state resources during an election period, including vehicles or the publicly funded maize programme, would ensure they are not used for campaign purposes. Other measures, including a moratorium on ceremonial openings of public works by the presidential office and public officials for the period of the official campaign, would ensure a separation between the resources attached to public office and campaign activities. The prohibition on the use of state resources should be reflected in the Electoral Act and the exclusion from the prohibition for the president and vice-president should be narrowed.

The announcement during the elections campaign of major spending programmes and the inauguration of strategically important infrastructure projects, such as ones for the distribution of electricity for the first time to rural populations, can only be construed as an inappropriate attempt by the government to use the advantages of incumbency to influence the outcome of the election. It is highly recommended that such practices be outlawed during the campaign period.

The electoral act should be amended to include more detailed regulations prohibiting the abuse of State resources during the election period in combination with effective and proportionate sanctions.

Infringements of laws and regulations concerning the electoral campaign should be subject to effective and proportionate sanctions. In particular, an appropriate range of disciplinary action should be provided for by law.