Understanding Electoral Campaign Regulations and Definitions

Item 6: The Election Campaign

Throughout the election campaign, each candidate outlined his merits and demerits in contrast to others to obtain the vote of the electors.

The LOREG defined in Article 50.2 the election campaign as all lawful activities undertaken by candidates, parties, federations, coalitions, or groups of voters in order to capture votes. It lasts for 15 days, ending at zero hours of the day immediately preceding the vote, without proper acts that can be considered electoral campaign until the thirty-eighth [Note: The original text seems to have an unclear ending here; assuming the 15-day period is the key constraint].

A) The Definition of Electoral Campaign

The placement of posters can only be considered part of the campaign if expressly requested by the vote. In such cases, their implementation should be limited to the 15 days set in the LOREG.

When electoral propaganda activities aimed at capturing or requesting the vote are reported to the electoral boards outside that period, the opening of files with all the guarantees of the LPA may be initiated if elections were infringed.

Persons authorized to perform campaign activities include strictly the candidates, but also parties, federations, coalitions, and groups competing for election.

On the other hand, if the acts done constitute a campaign crime, the electoral administration has no jurisdiction to order the seizure of materials; in any case, the judicial authority should be notified.

B) Institutional Campaign

During the same time that the campaign is conducted, public authorities, under their legal powers that called an election, can make an institutional campaign aimed at informing citizens about:

• The date of voting.
• The voting procedure.
• The requirements and procedures of the postal vote.

This must be done without influencing, in any case, the orientation of the vote of the electors.

At present, this campaign can only be informative. It may not be included within electoral campaigns of any kind because it undermines the principles of objectivity, transparency, and equality.

Public authorities who may conduct an institutional campaign will be those who called the election process: central government or autonomous bodies. They cannot do this in municipalities; for local elections, it is the government of the nation.

The means through which institutional advertising spaces may be issued will be free social media spaces in public ownership within the territorial scope of the election.