The purpose of the deposit is to reduce the prevalence of unserious candidates or parties with no realistic chance of winning a seat.
The States and territories of Australia will have their own individual deposit requirements and repayment thresholds for their separate elections.
The successful Charter challenge of the deposit requirement was undertaken by self-represented[4] Edmontonian Kieran Szuchewycz who had failed to meet the candidacy requirements for the 2015 Canadian federal election when attempting to run against the former prime minister Stephen Harper in the Calgary electoral district of Calgary Heritage.
In the Republic of India, candidates for election to the lower house of the parliament – Lok Sabha – must pay a security deposit of ₹25,000.
[7][8][9][10] In Ireland, candidates for election to Dáil Éireann who have been nominated by political parties registered to contest Dáil elections, as well as non-party candidates who are able to provide detailed information of 30 electors in the constituency who have assented to their nomination, are not required to pay a deposit.
It is refunded provided that the lower house candidate gains one-tenth (10%) or more of the total valid votes cast in the constituency, or provided that the upper house candidate gains one-eighth (12.5%) or more of the total valid votes divided by the number of the seats for the constituency.
In South Korea, candidates for election to a constituency seat of the National Assembly must pay a deposit of 15 million won, which is reimbursed in full if they obtain at least 15% of the valid votes cast.
The deposit is used to pay for infringements of election laws and is returned after polling day unless the candidate loses and fails to garner more than one-eighth of the votes cast.
The amount varies by each year and election, as follows: In all cases, unelected candidates who fail to secure at least one-eighth (12.5%) of the valid votes in their constituencies will have their deposit forfeited.
Since 1985 the deposit in elections to the House of Commons has been £500, which must be handed in, in cash, banker's draft, or other forms of legal tender, when the candidate submits nomination papers.
[33] The deposit has been criticised for making it difficult for smaller parties to engage in politics and the Electoral Commission has suggested scrapping them for general elections.
MPs have also defended deposits as preventing abuse of the electoral system, and being used for free publicity by those who are not seriously contending the seat.