Financing and creation of political parties, media

The very high number of political parties in Haiti appears as linked, at least partially, to the system of public financing, According to the 2014 Law on political parties, 1 % of the state budget is dedicated each year to the functioning of the legally recognised political parties, and financing is ensured, for example, to parties which have obtained 30 representatives of in the administrative councils of the (146) municipalities or of the (571) municipal sections, or, for regional parties, to those which have 3 representatives in municipal councils, in the administrative councils of the municipal sections or as members of the assemblies of the municipal sections (Article 31). The minimum number of members of a political party is 20 (Article 8). The interim Opinion therefore recommended financing electoral campaigns– and not political parties as such - and limiting public financing to those parties which obtain a certain percentage of votes. The creation of political parties could also be submitted to a minimum support, bearing in mind however that while “requirements based on minimum support (…) are legitimate, the state must ensure that they are reasonable and democratically justifiable and not so burdensome as to restrict the political activities of small parties or to discriminate against parties representing minorities”.