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Resolution 2037 (2015) Final version
Post-electoral shifting in members’ political affiliation and its repercussions on the composition of national delegations
1. Changes in political affiliation
by a parliamentarian – or a group of parliamentarians – in the course
of a national electoral mandate are a common phenomenon in many
Council of Europe member States.
2. In Council of Europe member States, imperative mandates are
prohibited and parliamentarians are free to exercise their mandates
as they see fit. Nevertheless, the mandates are moral contracts
between voters and the parliamentarians, based on the principles,
values and opinions championed in their election manifestos. Switches
in political affiliation after elections therefore raise questions
and criticisms – in particular in ethical and moral terms – relating
to political opportunism, potential threats to public confidence
in the political class and the internal discipline of political
parties.
3. Apart from these general criticisms, parliamentarians switching
from one group to another after elections or withdrawing from a
group to sit as independents has an impact on the working of the
parliamentary institution. In the case of members of the Parliamentary
Assembly, switching of this kind may influence the balance of political
representation within the national delegations to the Assembly.
4. The Assembly notes that there are great differences at national
level in positions regarding floor-crossing and in the regulations
that apply in national parliaments; it notes that in the vast majority
of States – and in the Assembly itself – there are no legal regulations
which specifically cover switches in political allegiance in the course
of mandates. It therefore considers that it is not necessary to
determine whether or not switching political affiliation should
be formally authorised or, on the contrary, prohibited.
5. The Assembly points out that, under Rule 6.2 of its Rules
of Procedure, the fair representation of the political forces existing
in national parliaments is a requirement for the validity of the
national delegations to the Assembly. In accordance with their internal
regulations or established practice, however, many national parliaments
appoint delegations to inter-parliamentary assemblies for the full
length of the parliamentary term. Changes which occur in the composition
of political groups during a parliamentary term, including changes
in party affiliation, may affect the representativeness of national
delegations and constitute a ground for challenging credentials.
6. With a view to increasing the transparency and effectiveness
of its procedures, the Assembly therefore calls on national parliaments
to take due account of switches in political affiliation by their
members which may alter the representativeness of their delegations:
6.1. before the opening of each ordinary
session of the Assembly, by submitting credentials which take account
of any changes in the composition of political groups and the balance
of forces between the majority and the opposition; by indicating
the regulations and the procedure which apply to the appointment
of delegations and the distribution of seats within delegations,
and the references and dates of the appointment decisions; and by
supplying up-to-date statistics on the breakdown of the political groups
represented in parliament;
6.2. in the course of a session, by notifying the Assembly
presidency of any switches in political affiliation by their members.
7. The Assembly notes that there is a general rule in all member
States that parliamentarians who switch political allegiance during
the life of a parliament retain their seats. It nevertheless believes
that account must be taken of the principles of transparency, integrity,
accountability and trust on which the contract between elected members
and citizens is based.
8. The Assembly therefore invites national parliaments to:
8.1. look in depth at the switching
of political affiliation by members so as to determine whether measures
should, or should not, be taken to restrict switching between political
groups, by prohibiting switches to another parliamentary group –
for the remainder of a parliamentary term or for a certain period of
time – and requiring the members concerned to sit as non-registered/independents,
or depriving them of certain participation and representation rights;
8.2. revise their internal regulations if they do not already
include provisions providing for or prohibiting the switching of
political affiliation, as well as the requirements for, and consequences
of, switches in political affiliation and the suspension, expulsion
or resignation of members from their political groups;
8.3. take switches in political affiliation during the life
of a parliament into account in the composition of parliamentary
bodies and in their chairs; determine or clarify the rules and procedures
governing the consequences for political groups and their members,
in particular in terms of participation and representation in parliamentary
bodies, of changes in their composition in the course of a year;
and resolve any dispute between groups by means of dialogue;
8.4. promote specific rules of conduct concerning members’
integrity, if appropriate by supplementing existing laws or codes
of conduct or ethics, so as to prevent and punish certain forms
of corruption such as vote buying or selling or bribing members
to change groups;
8.5. draw up a record of switches in affiliation by their members,
in particular indicating the reasons.
9. In terms of taking account, in the Assembly’s political groups,
of the consequences of switches in political affiliation within
national delegations, and also with a view to fostering greater
transparency in affiliation, the Assembly invites the political
groups in the Assembly to:
9.1. supplement
their statutes or rules of procedure, as appropriate, so that they:
9.1.1. set out more clearly the values and principles on which
the group is based and the objectives it pursues;
9.1.2. include provisions specifying the procedure and requirements
for, and consequences of, switches in political affiliation as well
as the suspension, expulsion or resignation of members;
9.2. draw up a record of switches in affiliation by their members
at national level and in the Assembly;
9.3. invite affiliated national political parties to promote
in their internal regulations specific rules laying down the requirements
for and consequences of switches in political affiliation and the
suspension, expulsion or resignation of members.
10. In order to promote its recommendations, the Assembly decides
to conduct an active and constructive dialogue with the national
parliaments of the Council of Europe member States, and with parliaments
enjoying observer and partner for democracy status with the Assembly,
whose regulations do not adequately address issues raised by post-electoral
changes in the political affiliation of their members.