25 AVRIL 2004. - An Act to amend the Act of 19 May 1994 relating to the limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Council of the Walloon Region, the Flemish Council, the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Council of the German-speaking Community (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER I^er. - General provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER II. - Amendments to the Act of 19 May 1994 on the limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Council of the Walloon Region, the Flemish Council, the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Council of the German-speaking Community
Art. 2. The title of the Act of 19 May 1994 on the limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Council of the Walloon Region, the Flemish Council, the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Council of the German-speaking Community is replaced by the following title:
"Act of 19 May 1994 regulating the electoral campaign, concerning the limitation and reporting of the election expenses incurred for the elections of the Council of the Walloon Region, the Flemish Council, the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Council of the German-speaking Community, and setting the criterion for the control of the official communications of the public authorities. »
Art. 3. Article 1^er of the Act, amended by the Act of 10 April 1995, which constitutes its "Chapter I^er. Definitions", the following amendments are made:
A) before 1°, which becomes 2°, the following provision is inserted:
"1st Act of 4 July 1989: the Law on the Limitation and Control of Electoral Expenditures for the Elections of Federal Chambers, as well as the Open Financing and Accounting of Political Parties; »;
B) instead of 2°, which becomes 5°, are inserted a 3° and a 4°, which reads as follows:
"3° components of a political party: the components of a political party referred to in Article 1^er1°, paragraph 2, of the Act of 4 July 1989;
4th Political Agents: the Political Agents referred to in Article 1^er3°bis of the law of 4 July 1989; »;
C) the 2°, which becomes the 5°, is replaced by the following paragraph:
5° the Control Board: the Control Board referred to in Article 1^er, 4°, paragraph 1^erAct of 4 July 1989. »
Art. 4. After Article 1^er of the same law, the following title is inserted:
“Chapter II. Regulation of the electoral campaign and limitation and declaration of election expenses for the elections of the Council of the Walloon Region, the Flemish Council, the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Council of the German-speaking Community. »
Art. 5. Section 2 of the Act, amended by the Acts of 10 April 1995, 25 June 1998, 22 January 2002 and 2 March 2004 and by the Royal Decree of 20 July 2000, are amended as follows:
(a) to § 1^er, paragraph 2, 1°, the number "795,000 EUR" is replaced by the number "800,000 EUR";
(b) at § 2, 1°, the words “1.40 franc” are replaced by the words “0.035 euro”;
(c) at § 3, 1°, the words "0.70 franc" are replaced by the words "01.75 euro";
(d) at § 5, 1°, the words "1.40 franc" are replaced by the words "0.035 euro";
(e) in the Dutch text of § 5, 2°, the word "op" is replaced by the word "van";
(f) § 6, paragraph 2, is repealed;
(g) the item is supplemented by a transitional provision, which reads as follows:
“Transitional provision
In order to determine the number of candidates placed at the top of the list referred to in § 3, 1°, during the elections of the Councils of 13 June 2004, one takes as a criterion, when a list in the elections of 13 June 1999 was composed of candidates nominated jointly by two or more parties and that these parties present separate lists in the elections of 13 June 2004, political affiliation, 1^er January 2004, Flemish members of the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region and the six Flemish members of the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region who are appointed by them to serve on the Flemish Council. »
Art. 6. In section 3 of the Act, amended by the Acts of 10 April 1995 and 2 March 2004, the words "The Minister" are replaced by the words "The Federal Minister".
Art. 7. In section 4 of the Act, as amended by the Act of 12 July 1994, the following amendments are made:
(a) it is inserted in place of § 2, which becomes § 3, a new § 2, which reads as follows:
“§2. Also considered as expenses of election propaganda referred to in § 1^er, expenses incurred by third parties in favour of political parties or candidates, unless
- shall not, as soon as they have become aware of the campaign carried out by the third parties in question, they shall, by registered letter to the post, cease this campaign;
- shall not transmit a copy of the said letter, together with or without the written agreement of the third parties to cease the campaign, to the presidents of the main electoral district offices, who, pursuant to Article 94ter, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, of the Electoral Code, prepare a report on election propaganda expenses incurred by candidates and political parties. These presidents attach these documents to statements of election expenses and origin of the funds deposited by the parties or candidates concerned. »;
(b) § 2, which becomes § 3, is supplemented as follows:
“6° the cost of periodic events, provided that they:
- have no purely electoral objective;
- have a regular and recurring character, and have the same organizational characteristics; the periodicity is appreciated either on the basis of a reference period of two years before the period referred to in § 1^erin the course of which the event concerned must have taken place once a year, on the basis of a four-year reference period preceding the period referred to in § 1^erin the course of which the event concerned must have taken place at least once a two-year period. If, however, publicity and invitation expenses are clearly exceptional in relation to the usual conduct of such a demonstration, they must, by exception, be charged as an election expense;
7° the cost of non-recurrent paid events, organized for electoral purposes, to the extent that expenses are covered by revenues, with the exception of those from sponsoring, and where these are not expenses incurred for advertising and invitations. If expenditure is not covered by income, the difference must be charged as an election expense;
8° the expenses incurred during the election period as part of the normal functioning of the party at the national or local level, especially for the organization of congresses and party meetings. However, if the costs of advertising and invitations are manifestly exceptional in relation to the usual conduct of such events, they must, by exception, be charged as election expenses;
9° expenses related to the creation, adaptation and management of Internet applications, provided that they operate in the same way and according to the same rules as outside the reference period. »;
(c) § 3 is repealed;
(d) in § 4, the words “of § 1^er are replaced by the words “§ 1^er and 2".
Art. 8. An article 4bis, which reads as follows, is inserted in the same law:
"Art. 4bis. If applicable, candidates shall comply with the penalties imposed under section 4bis of the Act of 4 July 1989 by the Supervisory Commission, a Council or a body designated by the Supervisory Commission. »
Art. 9. In section 5 of the Act, as amended by the Act of 25 June 1998, the following amendments are made:
(a) to § 1^er1°bis becomes 2°;
(b) to § 1^er, the 2°, which becomes the 3°, is replaced by the following provision:
"3° cannot sell gadgets or distribute gifts or gadgets, regardless of the mode of distribution and without prejudice to Article 184 of the Electoral Code, except for candidates and persons who, pursuant to Article 4, § 3, 1°, make unpaid electoral propaganda for political parties and candidates. By gadgets, all objects are understood, with the exception of printed on paper or any other information medium that conveys a political message with only opinions or illustrations, which are used as souvenirs, accessories, colifichets or common objects and whose person who distributes them hopes that the person who receives them will subsequently affect them to the use to which they are normally intended and that on this occasion, »;
(c) § 1^er is completed as follows:
"4° cannot organize a commercial campaign by telephone;
5° may not broadcast commercial advertising spots on radio, television and cinema. »;
(d) § 2 is replaced by the following provision:
“§2. For the same period, the provincial governor or administrative district of Brussels-Capital sets out, by police order, the terms of the posting of electoral posters and the organization of motorized caravans. »
Art. 10. Section 6 of the Act, amended by the Acts of 10 April 1995 and 25 June 1998 and by the Royal Decree of 20 July 2000, is replaced as follows:
“Art. 6. When applying for a list number, political parties file a written statement by which they undertake to:
1° comply with the legal provisions concerning the limitation and control of election expenses;
2° declare, against acknowledgement of receipt and within forty-five days after the date of the elections, their election expenses and the origin of the funds allocated thereto to the President of the chief electoral district office for the election of the Councils, in the jurisdiction of which the seat of the party is established;
3° retain, for two years from the date of the elections, the supporting documents relating to election expenses and the origin of the funds.
As long as donations are mentioned in their statement of origin of the funds, they also undertake to register the identity of the natural persons who have made donations of 125 euros and more for the financing of the election expenses, to guarantee the confidentiality of that identity and to communicate it within forty-five days after the date of the elections to the Council or to the body designated by the Council, responsible for ensuring compliance with that obligation in accordance with the date of elections 11.
The written statement, the statement of election expenses and the statement of origin of the funds and the acknowledgement of receipt are prepared on special forms prepared by the Federal Minister of the Interior and published in due course to the Belgian Monitor. The forms for the declaration of election expenses and the statement of origin of the funds, as well as the registration forms referred to in paragraph 2 are made available to the political parties at the latest when they request a list number.
These forms are signed, dated and filed against receipt by the applicants.
The King sets out, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, the modalities for filing the declaration of election expenses and the declaration of origin of the funds and the manner in which these statements will be inventoried and preserved. »
Art. 11. Section 7 of the Act is supplemented by the following paragraph:
"However, for this application, it is necessary:
1° to replace the reference to the Supervisory Board with a reference to the Board or the body designated by the Board;
2° to replace the reference to the chairs of the Supervisory Board with a reference to the President of the Board or the body designated by the Board;
3° to understand the reference to the Minister of the Interior as appointing the Federal Minister of the Interior;
4° to Article 94ter, § 1^er, paragraph 3, third and fourth dashes, to replace, respectively, the reference to Article 6 and Articles 2 and 5, § 1^erof the Act of 4 July 1989 on the limitation and control of election expenses incurred for the elections of the Federal Chambers, as well as for the financing and open accounting of political parties, by a reference to Article 6 and Articles 2 and 5, § 1^erof this Act;
5° to Article 116, § 6, paragraph 2, to replace the reference to Article 16bis of the Law of 4 July 1989 with a reference to Article 11 of this Law. »
Art. 12. Article 7bis, as follows, is inserted in the same law:
"Art. 7bis. The Council or the body designated by it may be advised by the Court of Auditors for the control of election expenses of political parties and candidates. »
Art. 13. Section 8 of the Act is repealed.
Art. 14. Section 9 of the Act is replaced by the following provision:
“Art. 9. The Council or body designated by it shall apply to the political party which has exceeded the maximum permissible amounts set out in Article 2, § 1^erthe sanction that the Council has provided for by decree or order. »
Art. 15. In section 10 of the Act, as amended by the Acts of 10 April 1995, 25 June 1998 and 26 June 2000, the following amendments are made:
(a) to § 1^er2°, the reference to § 3bis of Article 2 is replaced by a reference to § 5 of this Article;
(b) in § 2, the words "of the Supervisory Board" are replaced by the words "of the Board or the body designated by it" and in § 3, the words "to the Control Board" are replaced by the words "to the Council or to the body designated by it" and the words "the Control Board" are replaced by the words "the Board or body designated by it";
(c) in § 3, paragraph 1^erbetween the word "misses" and the words "in respect of" are inserted the words "or the formulation of denunciations";
(d) in § 3, the following paragraph shall be inserted between paragraphs 1^er and 2:
"In respect of the denunciations made by the Council or the body designated by it, the Crown Prosecutor shall, in any event, have, for the exercise of public action, a period of thirty days from the receipt of the denunciation. »
Art. 16. Section 11 of the Act, amended by the Acts of 25 June 1998 and 26 June 2000, and by the Royal Decree of 20 July 2000, are amended as follows:
(a) the first sentence of paragraph 2 is replaced by the following provision:
"Without prejudice to the requirement of registration referred to in Article 6, paragraph 2, and Article 116, § 6, paragraph 2, of the Electoral Code, the identity of natural persons who make, in any form, donations of 125 euros and more to political parties and their components, lists, candidates and political agents is registered annually by the beneficiaries. »;
(b) the last sentence of paragraph 2 is replaced by the following provision:
"The payments made by political agents to their political party or its components are not considered gifts. »
Art. 17. Section 11bis of the Act, inserted by the Act of 25 June 1998, is replaced by the following provision:
"Art. 11bis. The King sets out, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, the modalities for the establishment and filing of the registrations referred to in Articles 6 and 11, as well as those referred to in Article 116, § 6, paragraph 2, of the Electoral Code. The control of the registrations referred to in Articles 6 and 116, § 6, paragraph 2, of the Electoral Code shall be carried out by the Council or by the organ designated by the Council; the registrations referred to in Article 11 by the Supervisory Board. »
Art. 18. The transitional provisions contained in articles 12 to 14bis of the Act are replaced by chapter III, which contains section 12, which reads as follows:
“Chapter III. Establishing the standard of control for official government communications.
Art. 12. § 1^er. The Council, the Assembly of the French Community Commission or the body designated by them is obliged, each for its purpose, to control, according to the rules established by decree or order, all communications and information campaigns of the community and region government or of one or more of its members, of the French Community Commission or of one or more of its members, of one or more regional government secretaries referred to in 1989,
§ 2. The purpose of this inspection is to verify whether the communication or campaign is intended, in whole or in part, to promote the personal image of one or more members of the authorities referred to in § 1^er or the promotion of the image of a political party. »
CHAPTER III. - Entry into force
Art. 19. This Act comes into force on the day of its publication in the Belgian Monitor.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 25 April 2004.
ALBERT
By the King:
The Minister of the Interior,
P. DEWAEL
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
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Note
(1) Regular session 2003-2004.
House of Representatives.
Parliamentary documents. - Bill No. 51-898/1. - Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate, No. 51-898/2.
Full report: 18 March 2004.
Regular session 2003-2004.
Senate.
Parliamentary documents. - Project referred to by the Senate, No. 3-572/1. - Report, no. 3-572/2. - Decision not to amend, No. 3-572/3.
Annales of the Senate: March 25, 2004.