A/HRC/26/30 concerns at Government measures taken to restrict access to YouTube and Twitter before elections in Turkey.27 C. Absence of pluralistic political and media environments 41. The effective functioning of a vibrant democratic political system rests on the realization by the State of its responsibility to ensure an environment in which a diverse range of political opinions and ideas can be freely and openly expressed and debated. The realization of the right to freedom of expression during electoral processes thus depends on the promotion of the independence and diversity of media and of the pluralism of political candidates and groups, by means of which political ideas can be tested, analysed and communicated to the voters. 42. The media play a fundamental and critical role in guaranteeing and facilitating free expression during electoral processes: as the conduit between the voters and their political representatives, the media provide a platform for the transmission of political ideas; educate voters about candidates and their affiliations and about the election process itself; scrutinize political promises and test their strength and veracity; and ensure accountability in the electoral process by reflecting the mood of the populace, conducting polls, examining election procedures and identifying undue influence in the electoral process. The only way to ensure that each of the essential functions is conducted in an equal and unimpeded manner is to provide the media with an independent space to publish freely, without fear of retribution or attack. 43. A pluralistic electoral process is also undermined by the unregulated financing of, and spending by, political campaigns. As the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security (a joint initiative by the Kofi Annan Foundation and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) recognized in 2012, “uncontrolled political finance threatens to hollow out democracy and rob it of its unique strengths”.28 In many countries, the absence of regulations controlling campaign financing and spending creates the conditions for wealthy individuals and groups to exert influence and power over political candidates and groups, and provides an unequal advantage to wealthy political participants. Furthermore, groups of organized criminals are able to exploit unregulated and unenforced political financing regimes to buy political influence and even protection. 44. Unregulated campaign financing practices have recently been recognized by some authorities as a key contributor to political corruption.29 Countries such as Switzerland and Sweden have received criticism for the absence of national regulation of political financing, and political party financing systems in Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have also been called into question by transparency advocates.30 Evaluations by the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption on 27 28 29 30 12 OHCHR, “Turkey: First Twitter, now YouTube – UN rights experts concerned at attempts to restrict access before elections”, press release, 28 March 2014. Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security, “Deepening Democracy: A Strategy for Improving the Integrity of Elections Worldwide”, 2012, available from www.idea.int/publications/deepeningdemocracy/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=54594, p. 3. See, for example, “Don’t Trivialise Corruption, Tackle It”, address by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at TEDxEuston, available from www.modernghana.com/news/516652/1/dont-trivialise-corruptiontackle-it-dr-ngozi-okon.html. Transparency International, “Money, politics, power: corruption risks in Europe”, www.transparency.org/enis/report, p. 13.