Jersey’s elections too reliant on trust

Monday 21 May 2018

A team of experts who’ve been in the island looking at Jersey’s election set up say too much of it relies on trust, implying more rules should be put in place.

In its initial report a team from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association British Islands and Mediterranean Region say, “...improvements are needed to tackle the deficiencies in the regulatory framework, particularly in relation to campaign financing, political parties and the process for candidate nomination."

The team noted two incidents of allegedly improperly filled out nomination forms which were brought to the attention of the Royal Court, noting “...the form is poorly designed and open to confusion”.

Linked to the nomination form is a declaration candidates have to fill out about any criminal convictions. The team noted: “few checks of the eligibility criteria for candidacy were conducted; the authorities rely solely on the accuracy of a self-declaration form signed by candidates. This could leave opportunities for abuse and errors.”

And the observers say campaign finances need to be looked at. Whilst there are strict regulations on how much candidates can spend, and they’re forced to declare how much they’ve spent, the rules are more relaxed for political parties. The team says: “these deficiencies in financial accountability and transparency can potentially lead to abuse and fraud.”

In their initial report the experts also say media in the island, "...is essentially self-regulated and there is no oversight body to monitor media compliance. Thus, it is up to the individual media to provide candidates equal access and balanced coverage.”

A more detailed report on the team’s findings is to be published within the next two months.