Keeping the people's voice in power: Coalition statement on the Electoral Act
Date
2018Author
O'Rourke, Maeve
Irish Council of Civil Liberties
Amnesty International
The Wheel
Transparency International
Uplift
Front Line Defenders
Metadata
Show full item recordUsage
This item's downloads: 15 (view details)
Recommended Citation
O'Rourke, Maeve, Liberties, Irish Council of Civil, International, Amnesty, Wheel, The, International, Transparency, Uplift, & Defenders, Front Line. (2018). Keeping the people's voice in power: Coalition statement on the Electoral Act: Coalition for Civil Society Freedom.
Published Version
Abstract
We are a coalition of civil society organisations
working to influence public policy for the benefit
of people living in Ireland. The Wheel is Ireland’s
national association of community and voluntary
organisations, charities and social enterprises. Every
day, members of the Wheel are not only active in
providing on-the-ground services but are also busy
advocating for better living conditions and supports for
the communities they represent. The Irish Council for
Civil Liberties (ICCL) exists to raise awareness in public
of human rights issues, while Amnesty International
Ireland researches and campaigns with the aim of
preventing and ending grave human rights abuses.
Transparency International Ireland is the Irish chapter of
the worldwide movement against corruption. Front Line
Defenders is an international human rights organisation
based in Dublin, which works to advance the protection
of human rights defenders at risk in all regions of the
world. Uplift is a peoplepowered campaigning tool which
allows members of the public to join together online in
order to create public pressure for change in laws or
policies that cause them concern.
Our coalition is deeply worried about provisions inserted
in 2001 into section 22 of the Electoral Act 1997 as
amended, which appear to prohibit any person or
organisation based in Ireland from accepting sizeable
or any international1
donations to assist them in
influencing public policy. In addition, we are concerned
by the impact of the onerous tracking and reporting
requirements that attach to small domestic donations.
According to the wording of Electoral Act, these
donation restrictions can apply to civil society advocacy
work all of the time, and not just when advocating an
election or referendum result.
We believe that section 22 of the Electoral Act violates
the Irish Constitution, European law and international
human rights law. Our analysis of how the Electoral Act
is currently out of step with human rights standards
and Ireland’s foreign policy is contained below. We
are gravely concerned that Ireland’s democratic
values are compromised by the current wording of the
Electoral Act.