A/HRC/26/30 Andorra, Denmark and Malta31 identified as a concern the legal gaps allowing anonymous party and campaign financing, in contravention of its transparency recommendations.32 45. A lack of laws regulating political financing and requiring full disclosure of information on the functioning of political organizations can also give rise to the suggestion or appearance of corruption, causing public mistrust in the political process. Research shows that in the vast majority of European countries, more than 50 per cent of people believe political parties to be “corrupt” or “extremely corrupt” because of illicit financing practices. The perception of widespread political corruption as a result of the failure to regulate political financing often precipitates demonstrations and unrest in the lead-up to elections.33 VI. Towards a legal framework that protects freedom of expression in electoral processes 46. The State has a duty to provide a regulatory environment that facilitates a diverse range of political positions and ensures that voters have access to comprehensive, accurate and reliable information about all aspects of the electoral process. This may require the imposition of regulations that stipulate restrictions on campaigning, advertising, polling, spending and financing. Such restrictions must be designed to achieve the objective of providing a pluralistic and fair playing field, upon which political groups can communicate their ideas, and must have at their heart the protection and promotion of freedom of opinion and expression. 47. In the present section, the Special Rapporteur attempts to canvass in broad terms the pillars of an equitable legal framework that would ensure the protection of the freedom of opinion and expression during electoral processes. He recognizes, however, that a plurality of political systems exists and does not attempt to prescribe, in absolute terms, how States should design their legal systems. He simply suggests the types of regulatory framework that are most conducive to protecting human rights in the context of political communications and electoral processes. A. Promoting plurality 1. Political campaigning and expression 48. States should take general measures to encourage a diverse and pluralistic political process that is hospitable to ideologies from across the political spectrum. An important element of achieving this is ensuring that all political candidates’ parties have access to the media for campaigning and advertising purposes. Public campaigning is the central means that political parties and candidates employ to publicize their platforms and express their opinions, and to communicate their message to the voters. Political campaigns generally employ a diverse range of mediums, from pamphlets, posters and direct mail-outs, to addresses via radio and television, online and in the print media. Access by all political 31 32 33 Council of Europe, Group of States against Corruption, Interim compliance report on Denmark (14– 16 May 2012), Second compliance report on Malta (2–6 December 2013), Compliance report on Andorra (14–18 October 2013). See www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-01-26/news/maltas-compliance-with-political-financereforms-globally-unsatisfactory-3789389827/. Transparency International, “Money, politics, power: corruption risks in Europe” (see footnote 30). 13