The activity of third parties during election campaigns has to be regulated, especially if such activity involves expenditure. “Third parties” refer both to individuals and to organisations who are not legally tied to, or acting in coordination with, any candidate or political party but who nonetheless act with the aim of influencing the electoral result. As stated by the Venice Commission and ODIHR: “Even though the involvement of third parties as an expression of political pluralism and citizen involvement is not generally a negative phenomenon, it can create loopholes in the area of political and campaign finance, which should be regulated by legislators. Weak party and campaign financing and transparency rules are the most problematic and constitute a particularly high-risk area for corruption when it comes to the involvement of third parties in the sphere of political activities, yet measures taken to regulate third-party involvement should be necessary and proportionate […] In order to avoid the creation of loopholes through which unlimited funding can be channelled, and financial transactions can be veiled, laws should set proportionate and reasonable limits to the amount that third parties can spend on promoting candidates or parties, ideally by applying existing ceilings for donations to political parties to these actors, as well.”