Author Topic: Political Party Registration and Regulations Act (2017)  (Read 5924 times)

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Offline CGJ

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Political Party Registration and Regulations Act (2017)
« on: August 30, 2017, 09:50:13 PM »
Political Party Registration and Regulations Act (2017)

An Act to allow the establishment of political parties and regulate their functioning.

BE IT ENACTED by Her Excellency the Grand Chancellor, by and with the advice and consent of the Regional Assembly, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Political Party Registration

(1) Any two members of the Independent Order may establish a political party.

(2) Once a party has been established, members may submit a request to the Grand Chancellor who, having checked compliance with section (1) of this Act, shall make appropriate provision for them to organise.

(3) Appropriate provision shall be defined as having:
(a) A joinable group on the forum, linked to a private forum exclusive for party members; and
(b) A private channel on the Discord server.

(4) The Grand Chancellor shall maintain a list of all registered political parties, to be located in the Elections forum.

(5) A political party must have a topic in the Elections & Referenda forum, which shall be pinned by the Grand Chancellor and shall contain a list of all registered members.

(6) Should a party dissolve, either by the agreement of its members in accordance with its Constitution or Regulations, or if its membership falls below two members:
(a) Its forum shall be privately archived;
(b) Its Discord chat shall be deleted;
(c) Its topic in the Elections and Referenda forum shall be moved to the archive;
(d) It shall be removed from the list of registered parties; and
(e) All former members will be required to remove any promotional material from their signature of Custom Profile field within 72 hours.

(7) The Grand Chancellor may amend sections (3) and (6) by Order.

Party Campaigning

(8) Political parties shall be bound by the provisions of sections (7) and (8) of the Elections and Referenda Campaigns Act (2016) during campaign periods.

(9) During a campaign period, a political party may formally endorse and campaign for any Premier candidate, or candidates, or for an official or unofficial campaign in a referendum.

(10) Outside of campaign periods, members of political parties are entitled to:
(a) Post in their private forum or Discord channel;
(b) Post in their topic in the Elections and Referenda forum;
(c) Alter their signature or Custom Profile field; and
(d) Post promotional messages on the Regional Message Board, Discord chat or forum Shoutbox.

(11) Outside of campaign periods, members of political parties may not:
(a) Act contrary to the Constitution of the Independent Order or Criminal Code (2013);
(b) Promote their party by posting in non-relevant forums or topics, including in other topics in the Elections and Referenda forum;
(c) Post an excessive number of campaign messages in either the Regional Message Board, Shoutbox or Discord Chat;
(d) Use the @everyone tag on Discord;
(e) Send telegrams on NationStates;
(f) Alter their avatar;
(g) Send private messages to members of the Independent Order; or
(f) Use the the forum email function.

(12) The Grand Chancellor may amend sections (10) and (11) by Order.

(13) All parties must be in full compliance with sections (10) and (11) within 72 hours of the end of a campaign period.

Amendments to the Criminal Code (2013)

(14) Section 23 shall be amended as follows:
“(23) Any person, political party, action committee or other political group who knowingly violates the provisions of the Elections and Referenda Campaigns Act (2016) or the Political Party Registration and Regulations Act (2017) shall be guilty of Illegal Campaigning under this law and liable to a punishment at judicial discretion not exceeding a 48 hour ban for a first offence, up to 5 months for any subsequent offences and a suspension from office for a period not exceeding 12 months. The Court may at their discretion hold the individual or the group responsible for the offence.”

(15) Should a person, political party, action committee or other political group be suspected of violating the provisions of this act, the Grand Chancellor may, upon the advice of the Lord Chief Justice, suspend that individual, party or group until a trial can take place.

Amendments to the Elections and Referenda Campaigns Act (2016)

(16) The following subsection shall be added after subsection 8f:
“(8g) Post campaign messages, or provide links to a campaign message, in the primary nomination or election topic.”

(17) Section (11) shall be amended as follows:
“(11) Any campaign material included in avatars, signatures or custom profile fields must be removed within 72 hours of the polls closing, while campaign topics should be archived in this same period, unless such campaign material remains compliant with the Political Party Registration and Regulations Act (2017).”

Miscellaneous provisions

(18) Parties may, with the support of more than half of its members, introduce a Constitution, Rules or Regulations to govern the party. All such documents must be in compliance with the Constitution, the Criminal Code (2013), this Act, and all other laws of the Independent Order.

(19) No member of the Chancellory may join, endorse or support in any way any political party, other than to provide them with the adequate provisions in section (3).

Enactment

(20) The provisions of this Act shall come into force 72 hours after it is promulgated.

(21) Any existing political parties must declare themselves in accordance with this Act within 48 hours of this Act coming into force.

Explanatory note (not part of Act)

This Act formally establishes political parties as institutions, ensuring that they have appropriate provisions to campaign and organise. It also provides new regulations for campaigning outside of official campaign periods, amends the Criminal Code, amends the Elections and Referenda Campaigns Act (2016) and allows for parties to create their own rules.
The Most Honourable Marquess CGJ
Vice Chancellor


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