If public subsidies to political parties and candidates are the 'carrot' available to reformers, there are also several 'sticks' at their disposal. Regulations of political financing are of several kinds, see Party and Candidate Financing, Regulation/Oversight of Campaign Finance and Processing of Nominations. They consist of the following categories, each of which will be surveyed in a different file (or in several files):
- Limits on expenditures.
- Contribution limits.
- Disclosure regulations.
- Bans against certain types of contribution.
- Bans against certain types of expenditure.
See also Party and Candidate Financing.
Regulations on Political Parties vs. Campaigns
Although the core function of political parties in modern democracies is to contest elections, they do other things that are only indirectly connected with this. For instance, party groups existed within legislatures long before the extension of the franchise and before the development of extra-parliamentary party organisations.
It is realistic, therefore, to distinguish between the costs of elections and those of a party's routine activities. Regulations vary between countries as to whether they aim to regulate party funding as a whole (including routine, non-election activities) or whether they are directed specifically at the costs of election campaigns. As discussed in more detail in another entry, see Election Campaigns, it is difficult in practice to draw the boundary between 'election expenses' and other party expenses, but regulations of political financing cannot be understood without bearing this - albeit blurred - distinction in mind.
Draft Only
