43. Are there limits on the amount that third parties can spend on election campaign activities?
Vanuatu
Source: Official Gazette No. 2 of the Republic of Vanuatu. January 21, 2014. Constitution (Sixth) Amendment Act no. 27 of 2013 and Citizenship (Amendment) Act no. 39 of 2013.
Source: Vanuatu Global Integrity Report 2013
There is no legislation regulating election expenditure by third parties. The closest approximation to transparent financing is found in the Leadership Code Act [CAP 240] (sections 31, 32 and 33) which requires leaders, who may be third parties, to provide annual returns on income and assets disposed of in accordance with the Act.
Of relevance are the January 2014 amendments to Article 13 (3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu which introduced specifications for the “investor-citizen” category that prevent them from being involved in Vanuatu politics, funding activities that would support political stability in Vanuatu and affiliating or forming political parties. Indigenous and naturalized citizens are exempt from these restrictions. However, there is no assigned regulatory authority to monitor this activity.
