Andrew Geddis: Courts will decide 'where the lines fall' on current electoral rules

Another electoral law expert has confirmed that election activity is being thwarted by the uncertainty created by the Electoral Finance Act. Associate Professor Andrew Geddis has recently been appointed by the Government's Expert Panel on electoral law, and already he is declaring the EFA problematic for the current election campaign. In the latest Otago Bulletin (which is the 'fortnightly newsletter for university staff') he is quoted as stating: 'People want to get their election campaigns going, but it is difficult to know where the lines fall and there is no way to know until courts rule on issues which arise from it'. This is yet another significant public statement from a leading authority that signals that the EFA is having a chilling effect on political competition. In this statement, Geddis now seems to be agreeing with those that objected to the EFA on the basis that political outcomes will increasingly be decided by the judicial process rather than the electoral process.