Keeping the people's voice in power: Coalition statement on the Electoral Act
O'Rourke, Maeve Irish Council of Civil Liberties Amnesty International The Wheel Transparency International Uplift Front Line Defenders
O'Rourke, Maeve
Irish Council of Civil Liberties
Amnesty International
The Wheel
Transparency International
Uplift
Front Line Defenders
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Publication Date
2018
Type
Report
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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.
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.
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Coalition for Civil Society Freedom
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CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IE