Since 2007, before each election, Anticor has offered candidates the opportunity to sign an ethical charter. The charter for the regional elections of December 6 and 13, 2015, is now available.
This initiative aims, on the one hand, to inspire future presidents of regional councils and, on the other hand, to enable voters to make an informed choice.
This document contains thirty commitments, organized around six themes: the availability of elected officials, the prevention of conflicts of interest, the recognition of the role of the opposition, the transparency of public action, the fight against corruption, and the control of regional action.
For Jean-Christophe Picar, national president of Anticor: “The respect of these commitments will then be verified within the framework of the ‘post-vote service’ provided by Anticor: the association will hold elected signatories accountable and will publicly disclose any possible shortcomings.”
The Anticor Ethical Charter for the 2015 regional elections
1) Availability of Elected Officials
The list leader commits: to holding only one mandate; to implementing financial sanctions for elected officials who are absent from plenary sessions and commissions.
2) Prevention of Conflicts of Interest
The list leader commits: to establishing an independent ethics commission, including opposition members and citizens, responsible for indicating, before each plenary session, the elected officials who must abstain from participating in debate and voting on one or more resolutions; to appointing an ethics officer tasked with providing ethical advice to elected officials and public agents and responding to ethical alerts; to developing ethical training adapted to the specific risks of each service; to strictly prohibiting elected officials and public agents from accepting any gifts or advantages.
3) Recognition of the Role of the Opposition
The list leader commits: to respecting opposition members by allowing them to exercise their right to training, involving them in all regional bodies, and providing them with a decent space for expression in all regional publications; to proposing the presidency of the finance commission to the opposition; to involving the opposition in recruitment juries; to involving the opposition in negotiation phases stipulated in public procurement and public service delegation processes; to involving the opposition in appointing non-elected members of the local public service advisory commission.
4) Transparency of Public Action
The list leader commits: to making public the attendance of regional councilors at plenary sessions and commissions; to posting online the interest declarations of the president and vice-presidents; to publishing in open data the budgets, administrative accounts, and subsidies; to putting online the most important communicable documents: resolutions, regulatory orders, minutes of plenary sessions, reports from delegates, observations from the regional audit chamber, etc.; to promptly following the advice of the commission on access to administrative documents; to posting online the amount of allowances received by each regional councilor; to posting online the list of beneficiaries of function accommodation or vehicles; to posting online the number and remuneration of cabinet staff; to posting online the legal fees incurred by the region and judgments on possible convictions.
5) Fight Against Corruption
The list leader commits: to suspending from executive functions any elected official under investigation for integrity-related offenses; to permanently removing the executive functions of any elected official convicted of an integrity-related offense; to protecting whistleblowers.
6) Control of Regional Action
The list leader commits: to encouraging the training of regional councilors; to establishing an internal audit service, under the authority of an audit committee composed notably of independent experts and opposition members; to creating a monitoring commission for public procurement contracts, which will examine notably amendments and disputes; to creating a commission to oversee expenses related to communication, travel, receptions, catering expenses, and invitations; to requesting the certification of regional accounts by the Court of Auditors.
Ultimately, signing candidates commit, if elected, to report annually on the compliance with the commitments contained in this charter and to provide Anticor with the necessary information to monitor this charter.
Anticor, in turn, commits: to allow the list leader to use the “2015 Anticor Signatory” logo dedicated to this operation; to responding to requests for opinions on the application of this charter; to monitoring this charter and regularly informing citizens of both fulfilled and unfulfilled commitments.
