european-union elections political
Is it against law to expel from political party if one has voted against it in the national general elections? Eastern Europe (EU) case
<p>This is about Eastern European country that is the member of EU. Political parties of this country are eligible to receive monetary support from the country budget (taxpayer money) based on the performance on the national elections and the party under consideration has received those funds for past several years.</p>
<p>Now this party performed very poorly at the latest general elections, there were reputation risks and badly prepared election platform etc. Many party members voted against their party, it was against their conscience to vote for it. Party was expelled from the parliament completely. Now some other group of the party members are trying to organize the Congress or executive body to expel the members from the party, if those members have publicly declared that they have voted against their party.</p>
<p>My question is - considering that political parties have special place in the democracies and that they are receiving government funds and can not be private clubs - is it lawful to exper party members from the party if they have voted against their party or have declared publicly that they have voted against their party? Can such decision by the party Congress or the executive body of the party be challenged in the national courts of law and overturned by them?</p>
<p>OK, this country is Republic of Latvia.</p>

<p>I can't speak for Latvian law, but it's not unusual for someone to be expelled from or denied entry to a political party in the UK for supporting a rival party at the same time. <a href="https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/alastair-campbell-kicked-out-of-labour-party-after-voting-lib-dem-in-eu-election" rel="nofollow noreferrer">As one example</a>, Alasdair Campbell was expelled from the Labour Party after he admitted voting for a rival party in elections.</p>
<p>From that link, Labour Party rules say that someone &quot;who joins and/or supports a political organisation other than an official Labour group or other unit of the Party&quot; will &quot;automatically be ineligible to be or remain a Party member&quot;. So it's not about voting, which is secret, but about supporting a rival party.</p>
<p>Similarly, at least one member has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/30/labour-party-expels-glasgow-member-snp-support-social-media" rel="nofollow noreferrer">expelled from Labour</a> for supporting the Scottish National Party on social media.</p>
<p>Such decisions may have an element of the political (using it as a pretext to getting rid of someone you don't like). But there is no suggestion that such an action is illegal, if it is in the party rules. Political parties have a lot of discretion as to who is allowed to be a member, and who they expel. It's not like buying a gym membership where you are entitled to gym services or your money back; legally you sign an agreement to follow the rules when you join, and joining doesn't entitle you to much.</p>

<p>For <a href="/questions/tagged/germany" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="germany-container">germany</a>, one of the <a href="/questions/tagged/european-union" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;european-union&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;european-union&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="european-union-container">european-union</a> countries, the sticking point would not be <em>voting</em> for a different party, it would be <em>publicly calling for a vote</em> for a different party.</p>
<p>When a party member does not vote, or votes for a different party, that is covered by the secrecy of the ballot. Compelling the party member to disclose how they voted would be illegal. The election officials are required to stop other individuals from witnessing the vote or the voter from producing documentation, except for specific cases like help for voters with a disability.</p>
<p>When a party member claims to plan to vote for a different party, that could be considered <em>campaigning</em> for that party, and it can lead to exclusion. Looking at some of the parties, the exact definitions differ, but it may be enough to show up at a campaign event of another party and speak against the policies of the own party (e.g. <a href="https://archiv.cdu.de/system/tdf/media/dokumente/statutenbroschuere_cdu_verlinkt.pdf?file=1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CDU</a>, section B §12).</p>
<p>&quot;Confessing&quot; to a vote against the party in the past could also be construed as a call not to vote for it in the future, but that might depend on the exact words.</p>
