Law on the formation, functioning and financing of political parties (Le Moniteur, No. 10)

The governing statute on political parties, voted by the Legislature and published in Le Moniteur No. 10 of 16 January 2014. It replaces the 1986 decree and sets out four things: how a party is formed and registered, how it must operate, how it is financed, and how it can be sanctioned or dissolved. A party is constituted by at least twenty founding members before a notary and is registered with the Ministry of Justice, which must rule within forty-five days; a rejection can be appealed to the CSCCA within three free days.

On financing, the State commits each budget year an amount equivalent to one percent of the domestic revenue of the national budget to the operation of legally recognized parties. That subsidy is split sixty percent in equal shares among parties that contested the last elections and cleared a representation threshold, thirty-five percent in proportion to parliamentary representation, and five percent according to the number of women elected. Sanctions run from a warning through reduced State funding, suspension of up to two years, and withdrawal of authorization for five years or more, with fines of 400,000 to 2,000,000 gourdes for running a suspended or dissolved party. This is the law the electoral decrees refer back to when they set the conditions parties must meet to present candidates.