Beat the iron while hot

ON MONDAY, five MPs were named to the committee considering campaign finance reform.

But even before it begins its work, it is apparent that the scope of the proposed legislation should be expanded.

The August 10 general election made plain that amending the Representation of the People Act should not be confined to simply furthering the interests of political parties.

That, to some extent, is what the Representation of the People (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill does.

The bill laid in Parliament earlier this year by the Prime Minister proposes a system of funding for political parties alongside measures relating to registration, financial records, donor transparency, advertising and the use of state media.

These measures seem designed to deepen the democratic process by encouraging more parties to participate and by addressing the longstanding perception that in politics, whoever pays the piper calls the tune.

This perception has worsened over time, given the failure to proclaim and enforce procurement laws meant to stop cronyism, sleaze and extravagance in awarding state contracts.

Let us see how far politicians will go to do the right thing even if it may affect their own parties’ chances at the polls.

But while also making it easier for smaller political parties to participate, measures must also be taken to make voting easier for citizens. The need to do so was evident long before election day.

It remains a matter of deep regret that despite a deadly pandemic, the State took no interest – indeed the PM outright dismissed – the idea of allowing the electorate to vote by mail.

Instead, people – including the elderly most at risk of contracting covid19 – were forced to line up, some of them for hours and in long queues, in order to cast ballots.

Sanitisation controls meant to make the process safer also had the effect of prolonging voter frustration. Little wonder turnout was the lowest in decades.

In contrast, the recent US election provided an example of a process that saw more than 100 million voters avail themselves of options either to vote by mail or vote early.

For all the tedium of the US process, it should be observed, too, that our Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) took almost as long in its vote-counting for a nation of 1.4 million as the US took to count its 150 million votes.

No good reason has been advanced by the powers that be as to why the EBC cannot have more modern solutions in place. Nor has anyone said why the EBC cannot be autonomous and declare authoritative results swiftly, transparently and independent of the parties’ reckoning.

The committee should address these basic issues and not just tinker with the law.