Section A - Free and Fair Elections

(1) All public authorities in the United States of Africa shall be democratic institutions accountable to the African Constitution and the African people through free and fair elections, through the legislative process and through the nonpartisan oversight mechanism of independent agencies stipulated herein.

(2) Electoral fraud is a crime against the African people. A person appointed to serve as an election officer and, having accepted the appointment, neglects to perform the assigned duty or takes part in a fraudulent election shall serve a jail term, pay a fine and forfeit for life his or her right to participate in public elections and work in public service.

(3) Paragraph 2 of this section applies also to a person who (i) offers or accepts a bribe or other inducement in exchange for a vote, (ii) fails to report to the police and the electoral authority any act or attempt of electoral fraud, including voter bribery, or (iii) obstructs an investigation into electoral fraud.

Section B - Directorate of Elections

(1) (a) There is established a nonpartisan federal electoral authority to be known as the Directorate of Elections. The Directorate is composed of directors recommended for presidential nomination by the Board on Public Integrity and headed by an administrator, a secretary and a treasurer.

(b) The Directorate of Elections is Africa's independent and nonpartisan electoral commission which administers all federal elections, being responsible for fully enforcing electoral law and ensuring free and fair elections are accessible to all Africans. In addition to the administration of federal general elections and by-elections, the mandate of the directorate encompasses national referenda and all other aspects of electoral policy.

2) The members of the Directorate of Elections shall have no affiliation with any political organization and shall serve for a single five-year term, but a member of the Directorate may serve after the expiration of his or her term until his or her successor takes office.

3) An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring in the Directorate other than by the expiration of a term of office shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member he or she succeeds.

4) Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the Directorate shall be filled in the same manner as in the case of the original appointment.

5) Members of the Directorate shall be chosen on the basis of their experience, ability, integrity, impartiality and good judgment. Members shall be individuals who, at the time appointed, are not elected or appointed officers or employees in the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the United States of Africa. Members of the Directorate shall not engage in any other business, vocation or employment and must not be affiliated with any political organization. A person involved in any other business, vocation or employment at the time of his or her appointment to the Directorate shall terminate or liquidate such activity upon appointment.

(6) Officers. The members of the Directorate shall elect a chair, a secretary and a treasurer from among its members. The Directorate shall appoint a director of staff and a general counsel.

(7) The Directorate shall administer and enforce compliance with federal electoral law in addition to formulate electoral policy with respect to this article. The Directorate has exclusive jurisdiction over the civil enforcement of constitutional and statutory provisions.

(8) Nothing in this article limits, restricts or diminishes the investigatory, informational, oversight, supervisory and disciplinary function of the Federal Congress or any committee of the Congress with respect to elections for federal office.

(9) Voting requirements and delegation of authority. All decisions of the Directorate with respect to the exercise of its duties and powers under the provisions of this article shall be made by a majority vote of its members. A member of the Directorate may not delegate to any person his or her vote or any decision-making authority or duty vested in the Directorate.

(10) Rules, seal and principal office. The Directorate shall prepare written rules for the conduct of its activities, shall have an official seal which shall be judicially noticed and shall have its principal office in or near the District of Lumumba, but it may meet or exercise any of its functions anywhere in the United States of Africa.

(11) Judicial orders for compliance with subpoenas and orders of the Directorate. Upon petition by the Directorate, any federal district court of the United States of Africa within the jurisdiction of which any inquiry is being carried on may, in a matter relating to refusal to obey a subpoena or order of the Directorate, issue an order requiring compliance. Failure to obey the court order shall be punishable as contempt of court.

(12) No officer or agency of the United States of Africa shall has any authority to require the Directorate to submit its legislative recommendations, testimony or comments on legislation to any office or agency of the United States Africa for approval, comment or review prior to the submission of such recommendations, testimony or comments to the Federal Congress.

(C) Powers Granted the Directorate

The Directorate of Elections has the power:

(1) To require by a special or general order any person to submit under penalty of perjury written reports and answers to questions as the Directorate may prescribe,

(2) To administer affirmations,

(3) To require by subpoena, signed by the chairman or the vice chairman, the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of all documentary evidence relating to the execution of its duties,

(4) In any proceeding or investigation, to order testimony to be taken by deposition before any person who is designated by the Directorate and has the power to administer affirmations and, in such instances, to compel testimony and the production of evidence in the same manner as authorized under paragraph (3),

(5) To pay witnesses the same fees and mileage as are paid in like circumstances in the courts of the United States of Africa,

(6) To initiate through civil actions for injunctive, declaratory or other appropriate relief, defend in the case of any civil action brought under this article or appeal any civil action in the name of the Directorate to enforce the provisions of this article through its general counsel,

(7) To render advisory opinions pursuant to this article,

(8) To develop prescribed forms and to make, amend and repeal rules pursuant to the provisions of this article and statutory law regulating federal elections, and

(9) To conduct investigations and hearings expeditiously, encourage voluntary compliance and report apparent violations to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, including the attorney general of the United States of Africa.

Section D - Procedure and Practice

(1) Any person who believes a violation of this article or a federal statute regulating elections has occurred may file a complaint with the Directorate. The complaint shall be in writing, signed and sworn to by the person filing such complaint, shall be notarized and shall be made under penalty of perjury. Within seven days after receipt of a complaint, the Directorate shall notify in writing the person or persons alleged in the complaint to have committed such a violation. The person or persons alleged to have committed an electoral violation must file a written answer of notice.

(2) If the Directorate, upon receiving a complaint or on the basis of information ascertained in the normal course of carrying out its functions, determines that it has reason to believe a person has committed, or is about to commit, a violation of electoral law, the Directorate shall notify in writing the person of the alleged violation and require him or her to promptly file an answer to the allegation. The notification shall set forth the factual basis for the alleged violation. The Directorate shall commence a probe into the alleged violation in the event the answer fails to provide information overturning the allegation or if the accused does not respond as required.

(3) Upon the determination of the Directorate that a violation has been committed as alleged, the Directorate shall take administrative action or seek judicial sanctions to prevent, stop, correct or penalize the violation. Violators of electoral law shall pay a fine and forfeit their right to work in public service and, depending the violation, be barred from taking part in current or all future elections in addition to other sanctions, including a prison term, as a court may rule.

(4) If, after an investigation, the Directorate finds that any person has committed a knowing and willful violation of an order entered in a judicial proceeding related to a breach of electoral law, the Directorate shall petition the court for a ruling holding the person in criminal contempt and an arrest warrant shall be issued upon the petition prevailing.

Section E - Duties of the Directorate

The Directorate of Elections shall:

(1) Prescribe forms necessary to implement all electoral law.

(2) Prepare, publish and post on its website a manual recommending methods of bookkeeping and reporting for all persons required to file reports, statements and other information.

(3) Develop a filing, coding and cross-indexing system consistent with the purposes of this article.

(4) (a) Maintain a central site on the internet to make accessible to the African people all publicly available election-related reports and information. The term ‘election-related report’ means any report, designation or statement required to be filed.

(b) (i) Within 48 hours after the time of the receipt by the Directorate of reports and statements filed with it, make them available for public inspection and copying at the expense of the person requesting such copying except that any information copied from such reports or statements may not be sold or used by any person for the purpose of soliciting contributions or for commercial purposes other than using the name and address of any political committee to solicit contributions from such committee.

(ii) The Directorate shall exclude from the public record the contact information of financial contributors to political candidates from the public record in order to protect against illegal use of names and addresses of contributors. Candidates and political committees are required to attach a stand-alone list of their financial contributors as a separate page to the appropriate report to make it easy for the Directorate to remove it when publishing it.

(5) Keep such designations, reports and statements in their electronic database for a period of five years from the date of receipt.

(6) (a) Compile and maintain a cumulative index of designations, reports and statements filed under this article, which index shall be published at regular intervals and made available for purchase directly or by mail.

(b) Compile, maintain and revise a separate cumulative index of reports and statements filed by multicandidate committees, including in such index a list of multicandidate committees.

(c) Compile and maintain a list of multicandidate committees, which shall be revised and made available monthly.

(7) Prepare and publish periodical lists of authorized committees which fail to file reports as required by this article.

(8) Prescribe rules, regulations and forms to carry out the provisions of this article.

(9) Conduct audits and field investigations of any political committee required to file a report, including the verification for, and receipt and use of, any funds received by a candidate or committee.

(10) Recommend to both chambers of the Federal Congress any legislative or other action the Directorate demms necessary.

(11) Transmit to the Board on Public Integrity an annual report stating in detail the activities of the Directorate in performing its functions under this article.

(12) Make all statements, reports, notifications and all other information filed with the Directorate available for inspection by the public in the offices of the Directorate and accessible to the public on the internet upon receipt by the Directorate.

(13) (b) Additional information. To the extent feasible, the Directorate shall require that software developed for use in federal elections of the United States of Africa have the ability for any person to file any designation, statement or report in electronic form.

(14) The directorate shall maintain the Federal Voter Registry and administer civic education and information programs and provide accessible physical facilities for all voters nationwide.

(15) The directorate shall periodically readjust electoral district boundaries after every decennial national census,

(16) The directorate shall register political organizations, monitor their funding sources,

(17) The directorate shall ensure the nomination of political candidates is democratic and the primary election process meets the requirements of the African Constitution and statutory law.

(18) The directorate shall receive and examine the financial disclosure reports of all election candiates for federal office.

(19) The directorate shall appoint and train returning officers and ensure they provide competent and efficient management of the electoral process nationwide. It shall recruit seasonal election personnel, under the supervision of returning officers, to staff its polling centers in every state.

(20) The directorate shall process and authorize the payment of election campaign allowances and the reimbursement of expenses of women and physically disabled citizens seeking to be elected to public office according to a formula to be set out by a federal statute.

(21) The Directorate is mandated to adjust the boundaries of federal electoral districts following each decennial census.

(22) The Directorate shall carry out studies on alternative voting methods and, with the approval of the Chamber, test electronic voting for possible future use in elections.

Section F - Disclosure of Campaign Resources

(1) The term "election" means (i) a primary, general, special or runoff election.

(2) The term "candidate" means an individual who seeks nomination for election or election to public office. A person shall be deemed to be seeking nomination for election or election to public office if:

(a) He or she has received political campaign contributions or has made expenditures for the purpose of political nomination or election, or

(b) He or she has given consent to another person to seek and accept political campaign contributions or make expenditures on his or her behalf.

(3) The term "public office" means a position in federal, state or local government.

(4) The term "political committee" means (a) a group of persons which receives political campaign contributions, (b) a committee designated and authorized by a political candidate, or (b) any local committee of a political party which receives contributions, or (d) or any other political activity fund.

(6) (a) The term "contribution" includes (i) any gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for public office, or (ii) the payment by any person of compensation for the personal services of another person which are rendered to a political committee without charge for any purpose. Details will be regulated by a federal statute.

(7) (a) The term "expenditure" includes (i) any purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for public office, including paid political advertisement and excluding nonpartisan voter education for increasing citizen participation in the democratic process. Details will be regulated by a federal statute.

(8) The term "political organization" or "political party" means an association or group which nominates a candidate for election to federal office whose name appears on the ballot as the candidate of such organization.

(9) The term ‘independent expenditure’ means an expenditure by a person or a group (a) expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, but (b) which is not made in concert or cooperation with or at the request or suggestion of the candidate, the authorized political committee, their agents, political party committee or its agents.

(10) The term ‘federal election activity’ means (i) voter registration activity, (ii) voter identification, vote turnout drive or generic campaign activity conducted in connection with an election in which a candidate for federal office appears on the ballot, (iii) a public communication which refers to a clearly identified candidate for federal office, and (iv) work performed by a person or group for a political committee.

(11) Every political committee shall have a treasurer. No contribution or expenditure shall be accepted or made by or on behalf of a political committee during any period in which the office of treasurer is vacant. No expenditure shall be made for or on behalf of a political committee without the authorization of the treasurer or his or her designated agent.

(12) Every person who receives a contribution for an authorized political committee shall no later than seven days of receiving the contribution forward to the treasurer the contribution the name and address of the person making the contribution and the date of receipt.

(13) All the funds of a political committee shall be segregated from, and must not be commingled with, the personal funds of any individual.(14) (a) The treasurer of a political committee shall keep a complete and accurate of account of (i) all contributions received by or on behalf of the political committee, (ii) the identity and contact information of every person or group that makes a contribution together with the date and amount of any such contribution, and (iii) the name and address of every person to whom any disbursement is made, the date, amount and purpose of the disbursement and the name of the candidate and the office sought by the candidate, if any, for whom the disbursement was made, including a receipt, invoice or cancelled check for each disbursement.

(b) The treasurer of a political committee shall preserve all revenue and expenditure records required to be kept by this section and copies of all reports required to be filed with the Directorate of Elections for four years of each report being filed.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this article relating to times for filing reports, each candidate for federal office or the candidate’s authorized committee shall use software that meets the standards promulgated by the Directorate once such software is made available to such candidate.

(8) (a) The Directorate shall as soon as practicable post on the internet all information received pursuant to this provision,

(b) The Directorate shall ensure that, to the greatest extent practicable, information required to be disclosed is publicly available through the Directorate's website in a manner that is searchable, sortable and downloadable, and

(c) The Directorate's public database containing information disclosed under this provision is linked electronically to the website of the Board on Public Integrity.

Section G - Registration of Political Committees

1 (a) Each authorized campaign committee shall file a statement of organization with the Directorate of Elections no later than fifteen days of designation.

(2) The statement of organization of a political committee shall include:

(i) the name, address, and type of committee,

(ii) the name, address, relationship and type of any connected organization or affiliated committee,

(iii) the name address, and position of the custodian of books and accounts of the committee, (iv) the name and address of the treasurer of the committee,

(v) if the committee is authorized by a candidate, the name, address, office sought, and party affiliation of the candidate, and

(vi) a listing of all banks, safety deposit boxes or other depositories used by the committee.

(3) Any change in information previously submitted in a statement of organization shall be reported forthwith.

Section H - Filing Requirements

(1) Reports. All political committees shall file pre-election, post-election and additional quarterly reports with the Directorate of elections.(2) Declaration of intent. Not later than fifteen days after an individual becomes a candidate for federal office, the candidate shall file a declaration with the Directorate stating the total amount of expenditures from personal funds the candidate intends to make.

(2) Initial notification. No later than twenty-four hours after a candidate described in clause (2) makes or obligates to make an aggregate amount of expenditure from personal funds, the candidate shall file a notification with the Directorate.

(3) Additional notification. After a candidate files an initial notification under clause (iii), the candidate shall file within twenty-four hours an additional notification each time additional expenditures from personal funds are made or obligated to be made to the candidate's election campaign.

(4) Amount of funds. The total amount of expenditures from personal funds that the candidate has made, or obligated to make, with respect to an election as of the date of the expenditure shall be included the above notifications.

(5) Notification of disposal of excess contributions. In the next regularly scheduled report after the date of the election for which a candidate seeks nomination for election to, or election to, federal office, the candidate or the candidate’s authorized committee shall submit to the Directorate a report indicating the source and amount of any excess contributions and the manner in which the candidate or the candidate’s authorized committee spent the funds.

(6) The Directorate shall set the filing dates for reports to be filed by principal campaign committees of candidates seeking election, or nomination for election, in special elections and political committees making contributions to or expenditures on behalf of a candidate or candidates in special elections.

(8) The Directorate shall make a designation, statement, report or notification filed with the Directorate available for inspection by the public in the offices of the Directorate and accessible to the public on the internet upon receipt by the Directorate.

(9) (b) Additional information. To the extent feasible, the Directorate shall require that software developed for use in federal elections of the United States of Africa have the ability for any person to file any designation, statement or report in electronic form.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this article relating to times for filing reports, each candidate for federal office or the candidate’s authorized committee shall use software that meets the standards promulgated by the Directorate once such software is made available to such candidate.
(10) (a) The Directorate shall as soon as practicable post on the internet all information received pursuant to this provision,

(b) The Directorate shall ensure that, to the greatest extent practicable, information required to be disclosed is publicly available through the Directorate's website in a manner that is searchable, sortable and downloadable, and

(c) The Directorate's public database containing information disclosed under this provision is linked electronically to the website of the Board on Public Integrity.

Section I - Termination of Political Committees

(1) A political committee terminates by filing a written declaration with the Directorate of Elections that it will no longer receive any contributions or make any disbursement and that the committee has no outstanding debts or obligations.

(2) Nothing contained in this section may be construed to eliminate or limit the authority of the Directorate to establish procedures for (a) the determination of insolvency with respect to any political committee, (b) the orderly liquidation of an insolvent political committee and the orderly application of its assets for the reduction of outstanding debts, and (c) the termination of an insolvent political committee after such liquidation and application of assets.

Section J - Limits on Contributions

(1) A federal statute shall regulate the aggregate amount of financial contribution a citizen may make to a political candidate or committee.

(2) The maximum amount contributed to a political candidate or committee must be reasonable and proportionate with the contributor's income.

(3) No financial contributor shall make a donation to a political campaign or committee in behalf of a third party. Each contributor must donate from their own income. No person shall make a contribution in the name of another person or knowingly permit his or her name to be used to effect such a contribution and no person shall knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person.

(4) It is unlawful for anyone (individuals, groups, corporations and all other organizations) to reimburse or offer to reimburse a person for a contribution to a candidate for public office or political committee. It is similarly unlawful for a person to accept reimbursement or an offer of reimbursement for a political donation.

(5) The above limitations on financial contributions to political candidates and committees do not apply to transfers between and among political committees which are national, state, district or local committees (including any subordinate committee thereof) of the same political organization.

Section K - Prohibited Contributions

(1) Corporations, labour unions and all other organizations are banned from making financial contributions to political candidates and committees, but their employees or members are free to do so from their own incomes as individual citizens.

(2) It is unlawful for any corporation, labour union and all other organizations to make a financial contribution or expenditure in connection with any election to any political office or in connection with any primary election or political convention or other event held to select candidates for any political office.

(3) It is unlawful for:

(a) A foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make (i) a contribution or donation of money or anything else of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a federal, state or local election, (ii) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political organization, or (iii) an expenditure, independent expenditure or disbursement for an electioneering communication.

(b) An African citizen, including a political candidate or committee, to solicit, accept or receive a contribution or donation as described in (a) above from a foreign national, organization or government, but African citizens in foreign countries are free to contribute financially to political candidates, committees and elections in the United Statres of Africa from their own incomes.

(3) An African citizen who has not attained the voting age of sixteen years to make a financial contribution or other donation to a candidate for public office or political committee.

(4) A candidate or political committee to knowingly accept any contribution or make any expenditure in violation of the provisions of this article. No officer or employee of a political committee shall knowingly accept a contribution made for the benefit or use of a candidate or knowingly make any expenditure on behalf of a candidate in violation of any limitation imposed on contributions and expenditures by this article.

Section L - Voting-Age Population

The Bureau of National Statistics shall certify, gazette and transmit to the Directorate of Elections a regular estimate of the voting-age population of the United States of Africa, of each state and of each congressional district as of the first day of July next preceding the date of certification. The term "voting-age population" means the resident population aged sixteen years and older.

Section M - Political Organizations

(1) Political organizations may participate in advancing the political will of the African people. Their internal organization must conform to democratic and constitutional principles. They shall publicly account for the sources and use of their funds and all other assets.

(2) All political parties must be secular and non-ethnic. They shall each have a reasonable number of duly registered members in every state. The minimum membership each party shall have in each state will be set by a federal statute.

(3) Parties which by reason of their aims or the activities of their members seek to disrupt or destroy the constitutional order of the United States of Africa shall have forfeited their right to participate in the democratic process and will be dissolved. The courts will decide on the question of unconstitutionality. 

Section N - Independents

Independent candidates will run for election on the condition that they submit a signature-supported petition. At all levels of public officve, an independent must collect signatures from duly registered voters amounting to no less than ten percent of the electorate in the constituency for which the petitioner is seeking election. Details will be stipulated by a federal statute.

Section O - Public Funding for Disadvantaged Candidates

(1) Female and physically disabled candidates for public office shall receive federal and state election campaign expense assistance.

(2) The United States of Africa shall fund citizens with physical disabilities and women seeking federal office while the states will aid candidates from these disadvantaged groups seeking election to state and local office.

(3) The formula for public assistance to disadvantaged election candidates will be calculated based on the resources available to them from either their donors or political organizations. The federation and states will pay the balance.