What institution(s) has the power to impose non-criminal sanctions for campaign finance infractions?
Barbados
Representation of the People Act (1971-06-01) (Lastly amended2007)
PART IV FirstSchedule
Election Campaign
ELECTIONEXPENSES
44. Making ofcontracts through election agent
(1) Theelection agent of a candidate shall appoint every polling agent, clerk andmessenger employed for payment on behalf of the candidate at an election, andhire every committee room hired on election behalf of the candidate.
(2) A contractwhereby any election expenses are incurred shall not be enforceable against acandidate at the election unless made by the candidate himself or by hiselection agent.
45Payment of expenses through election agent
(1) Subject tosections 46,49 or 50, no payment, advance or deposit may be made by a candidateor by any agent on behalf of candidate or by any other person at any time inrespect of election election expenses otherwise than by or through the electionagent of the agent.
(2) Every payment made by an election agent inrespect of any election expenses shall, if such payment exceeds $10, be vouchedfor by a bill stating the particulars and by a receipt.
(3) All moneyprovided by any person other than the candidate for any election expenses,whether as a gift, loan, advance or deposit, shall be paid to the candidate orhis election agent.
(4) Subsections(l), (2) and (3) shall not apply to any sum disbursed by any person out of hisown money for any small expense legally incurred by him if the sum is notrepaid to him.
(5) A personwho makes any payment, advance or deposit in contravention of subsection (1) ormakes a payment in contravention of subsection (3) is guilty of an illegalpractice.
46 Personal expenses ofcandidate and petty expenses
(1) Thecandidiate at an election may pay any personal expenses incurred by him onaccount of or in connection with or incidental
to the electionup to an amount not exceeding $50; any personal expenses incurred by him inexcess of that amount shall be paid by his election agent.
(2) Thecandidate shall send to his election agent within the stipulated period awritten statement of the amount of personal expenses paid by the candidate.
(3) A personauthorised in writing by the election agent may pay any necessary expenses forstationery, postage and other petty expenses, to a total amount not exceedingthat named in the authority, but any expense incurred in excess of the total amountso named shall be paid to the election agent.
(4) A statementof the particulars of payments made by any person so authorised shall be sentto the election agent within the stipulated period and shall be vouched for bya bill containing the receipt of that person.
47. Prohibitionof expenses not authorized by election agent
(1) No expensesmay, with a view to promoting or procuringthe election of a candidate at an election, be incurred not by any person otherthan the candidate, his election agent and persons authorized in writing by the electionagent on account agent. holding public meetings or organizing any public display; or issuing advertisements, circulars or publications; or subject tosubsection (2), otherwise presenting to the electors the candidate or his viewsor the extent or nature of his backing or disparaging another candidate.
Paragraph (c)of subsection (1) shall not restrict the publication of any matter relating tothe election in a newspaper or other periodical; apply to any expenses notexceeding in the aggregate the sum of two dollars which may be incurred by an individualand are not incurred in pursuance of a plan suggested by or concerted withothers or to expenses incurred by any person in travelling or similar personal expenses.
Subject tosubsection (4), where a person incurs any expenses required by this section tobe authorised by the election agent, that person shall within twenty-one daysafter the date of publication of the result of the election send to theSupervisor of Elections a return of the amount of those expenses, stating theelection at which and the candidate in whose support they were incurred, andthe return shall be accompanied by a declaration made by the said person or inthe case of an association or body of persons, by a director, general manager, secretaryor other similar officer thereof, verifying the return and giving particularsof the matters for which the expenses were incurred.
(4) Subsection(3) shall not apply to any person engaged or employed for payment or promise ofpayment by the candidate or his election agent.
(5) The returnand declaration made under this section shall be in the Forms 3 and 4respectively set out in the Third Schedule and the authority received from theelection agent shall be annexed to and shall form part of the return.
(6) Subject tosubsection (7), a person who incurs, or aids, abets, counsels or procures anyother person to incur, any expenses in contravention of this section orknowingly makes a false declaration under subsection (3) is guilty of a corruptpractice and a person who fails to send any declaration or return as requiredby this section is guilty of an illegal practice.
(7) The court before which a person isconvicted pursuant to this section may, on consideration of any specialcircumstances advanced, mitigate or entirely remit any incapacity imposed byvirtue of section 60 of the Election Offences and Controversies Act, and acandidate shall not be liable nor shall his election be avoided for a corruptor illegal practice under this section committed by his election agent withouthis consent or connivance.
(8) Where anyact or omission of an association or body of persons, corporate orunincorporate, is an offence declared by this section to be a corrupt orillegal practice, any person who at the time of the act or omission wasdirector, general manager, secretary or other similar officer of theassociation or body, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall bedeemed to be guilty of that offence unless he proves that the act or omission tookplace without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all suchdiligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to haveexercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and toall the circumstances.
48. Limitationof election expenses
(1) No sum maybe paid and no expense may be incurred by a candidate or election agent at anelection whether before, during or after an election, in respect of the conductor management of the election in excess of the amount specified in subsection(2) and a candidate or election agent who knowingly acts in contravention ofthis subsection is guilty of an illegal practice.
(2) The amountreferred to in subsection (1) is the sum of money calculated at the rate of $10in respect of each registered elector in the constituency.
(3) The saidamount shall not be required to cover the candidate's personal expenses.
(4) Indetermining the said amount, regard shall not be had to any deposit required tobe made by a candidate in accordance with the election rules.
(5) For thepurposes of subsection (2), a registered elector is a person whose name is onthe register of electors to be used at the election, but if the register to beused at the election is not published before the date of the publication of thenotice of the election, then a registered elector shall be a person whose nameis on the register of electors in force for the constituency for which theelection is to be held.
49. Time for sendingin and paying claims.
(1) Every claimagainst a candidate or an election agent in respect of election expenses whichis not sent in to the election agent within twenty-one days after the day onwhich the result of the election is declared (which period is in this Partreferred to as the stipulated period) shall be barred and not paid.
(2) Allelection expenses shall be paid within six weeks after the stipulated period.
(3) Subject tosubsection (4), an election agent who pays a claim in contravention ofsubsection (1) or makes a payment in contravention of subsection (2) is guiltyof an illegal practice.
(4)Notwithstanding subsection (3), where the candidate satisfies the Court thatany such payment was made by an election agent without his sanction orconnivance, the election of the candidate shall not be void nor shall he besubject to any incapacity under this Act or under the Election Offences andContraversies Act only because that payment was made in contravention ofthis section.
(5) Theclaimant, candidate or election agent may apply to the Court for leave to pay aclaim for any election expenses, although sent in after the stipulated periodor although sent in to the candidate and not to the election agent, and theCourt may by order grant such leave.
(6) Any sumspecified in the order of leave may be paid by the candidate or the electionagent and when paid in pursuance of that order shall not be deemed to be incontravention of subsection (2).
[…]
51. Claim by electionagent.
This Act shallapply to a claim for remuneration by an election agent and to the paymentthereof in like manner as if he were any other creditor, and if any differencearises respecting the amount of the claim, the claim shall be a disputed claimwithin the meaning of this Act and shall be dealt with accordingly.
52. Return as to electionexpenses.
(1) Withinseven weeks after the day on which the result of the election is declared, theelection agent of every candidate at the election shall transmit to theSupervisor of Elections a true return in the Form 5 set out in the ThirdSchedule, or a form to the like effect, containing in relation to thatcandidate a statement of all payments made by the election agent together withall bills and receipts.
(2) The returnshall deal under a separate heading or subheading with any expenses includedtherein (a) in respect of which a return is required to be made under subsection(3) of section 47; or
(b) which areon account of the remuneration or expenses of speakers at public meetings.
(3) The returnshall also contain in respect of that candidate-
(a) a statementof the amount of personal expenses, if any, paid by him;
(6) a statementof all disputed claims of which the election agent is aware;
