LEADER of Government business in the House of Representatives, Phillip Paulwell, said Tuesday that the proposed changes to the Representation of the People Act to facilitate electoral campaign financing represent a historic and timely development.

“The changes have been long in coming and, for the first time, we are about to witness the insulation, I believe, of our democracy from corruption,” Pauwell told the House, as he opened the debate on the amendments which promulgate legislation relating to electoral campaign financing reform under the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ).

He said that future elections must reflect the will of the people and political power must not be bought.

“Confidence in the governance of our country must remain sacrosanct and, at all costs, we must protect the processes that give meaning to full participation and national development,” Paulwell added.

The Bill, titled An Act to Amend the Representation of the People Act 2015, seeks to limit expenditure by candidates, in any constituency, on election expenses to $10 million, “or such sum as the (Electioral) Commission may, by order, subject to affirmative resolution, prescribe”.

Every registered political party shall submit to the Commission a campaign period expenditure report within a period of 180 days after an election.

The report shall include a consolidated statement of all contributions received during the campaign period; an itemised statement of the values of all contributions, cash or kind, of a value exceeding $250,000 received during the campaign period with the name, address, occupation of the respective contributors; and a consolidated total income and expenditure statement for the campaign period, categorising expenditures in accordance with the categories listed in the registered political party’s most recent financial report.

Failure to submit the report to the commission within a time and in the manner prescribed shall make the authorised representative of the political party guilty of an offence and, on summary conviction in a Resident Magistrate’s Court, liable to a fine not exceeding $1 million, or a 12-month term of imprisonment.

It will also allow the Government to provide funding for the reimbursement of election expenses incurred by candidates of a registered political party, or an independent candidate who has received at least five per cent of the votes cast in the election.

The political parties and independent candidates will also be required to submit to the commission a final disclosure report, detailing income and expenditure and all contributions received during the reporting period.

Following Paulwell’s opening submission Tuesday, the Opposition, which also supported the amendments that were included in a 2013 report from the Eelectoral Commission, is expected to respond when the debate resumes next week.