Moves to outlaw anonymous political donations in Keys elections – as well as limiting how much candidates can spend on their campaigns – will be discussed by MHKs next week.

On Tuesday, the House of Keys is due to consider the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill for the first time.

The laws were produced by the Council of Ministers after a public consultation on proposed new election rules.

But it’s only the first tranche of regulation aimed at making sure the Island’s polling process is fair and transparent.

Jason Roberts reports (audio file attached):

The Council of Ministers report on the consultation says there’s not enough time to include other ideas which were discussed.

Other proposals - including registering political parties and allowing political radio adverts – will be reviewed after September’s General Election.

But the rules to be discussed on Tuesday include having candidates declare all donations over ?50, outlawing anonymous donations, and limiting spending during a campaign to ?2,000 plus 50p for every voter in the constituency.

In his foreword to the report, Chief Minister Tony Brown says the scope of the proposed Bill may be narrower than originally hoped, but it’s an important step in the right direction.