Poll financing disclosure mandatory

The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has announced new legislation for the Dec. 12 elections, including fines and imprisonment for failure to disclose candidate financing, obstructing procedures or officials, and fraudulent activity.
Violators face one year in jail and fines up to SR50,000 for various acts including using force to obstruct municipal procedures, preventing workers from performing their duty or trying to influence voting in a fraudulent manner.

The same penalties apply to those who destroy or conceal any election document or ballot box, buy votes with cash or gifts, damage facilities or operational and technical apparatus, receive funding from external bodies, or impersonate others during the voting process.
There are also penalties for candidates failing to disclose their campaign funding and how they spent it, forging official documents, or committing any type of fraud to influence the outcome of the election, a local publication reported recently.

Article 52 of the law stipulates that there would be a SR10,000 fine for various violations including registering twice or more on the voter’s roll, repeat voting, voting in a constituency where the person is not registered, entering election offices unlawfully, or presenting incorrect data to election committees.
Article 53 stipulates that violators who commit lesser violations would be fined a maximum of SR1,000, while Article 54 stipulates that unlawful actions under Articles 51 and 52 would result in a ban on participating as a voter or candidate.
Article 60 stipulates that municipal council members who break the law can be penalized with warnings, suspended from participation for three months, or have their membership revoked permanently. Article 61 stipulates that the minister has to approve any form of penalty, based on the recommendations of the committee investigating violations.

A source at the ministry said that all candidates must pay SR3,000 upfront as insurance for any form of violation they may commit during the election. This sum is refundable. There is also a fine of SR200, also refundable, for violations related to advertising boards that violate the one square kilometer spacing.
The law stipulates that municipality employees cannot stand as candidates in the upcoming election to avoid conflict of interest. Others who may not participate include judges, notaries, governors, heads of centers, members of development commissions providing services, and investors with municipal contracts.