Political parties and election expenses: online publication of information (P.28/2026) – Deputy M. R. Scott of St. Brelade . | A1. The Committee considered a draft comment which had been prepared in response to P.28/2026 - Political parties and election expenses, which had been lodged au Greffe' by Deputy M.R. Scott of St. Brelade . The Committee noted that Deputy Scott 's proposition requested the Committee, in consultation with the Jersey Electoral Authority and the Judicial Greffier, to make legislative changes before the public election in 2030 to require the on line publication of a register of political parties and their accounts. The proposition also required the declaration of donations over £500 by candidates and parties before the election. The Committee noted that candidate expenditure was uploaded to the vote.je website after the election for the purpose of transparency. Registered political parties and their accounts could also be publicised on the website. The Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Law 2014, required independent candidates to deliver a written declaration of any donation of more than £145 no later than 4 weeks after the polling day. Conversely, political parties were required to declare donations within 4 weeks of receipt and a threshold amount of £500 had been set, in accordance with the Public Elections (Donations to Political Parties – Threshold Amount) (Jersey) Regulations 2022. Deputy Scott 's proposition sought to equalise the treatment of parties and independent members in terms of when declarations were made and increased the declarable donation sum for independent candidates from £145 to £500. The current system recognised that parties were likely to attract larger donations than independent candidates and that these might be received throughout the 4-year term to support party activities, whereas donations to independent candidates were normally election related. If a Member received a donation outside of the election cycle, they were required to declare this on the register of interests, in accordance with Schedule 2 of Standing Order 152. Consequently, the existing approach was considered to be fair. The Committee approved the draft comment and requested that it be presented to the States. |
