E. Rules on the financing of political parties

1. Donations

It is noted that while Article 34 states that donations shall include contributions made by the members themselves, it is not clear whether this includes membership fees. Membership fees are a legitimate source of political party funding. However, charging high membership fees can be a way around donation limits. According to the Guidelines, legislation should ensure that membership fees are not used in this manner.[1] It is therefore recommended to consider stating explicitly in Article 34 that membership fees are also counted as donations, so as to ensure that donation limits are not circumvented.[2]

[1]Guidelines, par. 163.

[2]Ibid.