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Chapter VIII. Funding of Elections and Referenda
Article 46. Financial Support of Preparation and Administration of Elections
Article 47. Electoral Funds and Procedure for Their Formation
Article 48. Audit Service
Article 46. Financial Support of Preparation and Administration of Elections
1. Expenses incurred by election commission in the preparation and holding of elections of an appropriate level in the Russian Federation shall be paid from the funds allocated from the appropriate budget (the federal budget, the budget of Subject of Russian Federation, a local budget).
2. A referendum of the Russian Federation shall be financed from the federal budget, other referenda, from the budgets of Subjects of Russian Federation and local budgets, unless federal laws and laws of Subjects of Russian Federation provide otherwise. This Federal Law shall apply to the financing of a referendum in so far as it concerns the financing of the organization and activities of referendum commissions.
3. Expenses incurred by election commissions, referendum commissions shall be reflected on a separate line in the relevant budget.
4. Should elections, referenda fail to be funded from the relevant budget or in case of a delay in remittance of funds to the election commissions, referendum commissions that is assigned by federal constitutional laws, federal laws, laws of Subjects of Russian Federation to supervise the activities of subordinate election commissions, referendum commissions related to the preparation and administration of the corresponding election, referendum, the above expenses shall be covered by credits of banks or other credit institutions provided to the election commission, referendum commission on a competing basis. In this case the allowable amount of funds shall not exceed the sum contained in the report of the election commission of an appropriate level on the expenditure of funds in the preparation and holding of similar previous elections taking into account the change in the minimum wage established by federal law.
5. The credits that have been obtained including interest thereon shall be repaid, depending on the level of the elections, referendum from the appropriate budget by the Government of the Russian Federation, a body of executive power of Subject of Russian Federation or by a body of local self-government, for which these credits shall be a debt liability and must be repaid within a period not exceeding two years, unless an appropriate low (normative legal act) provides for a shorter period. When approving a budget for a year which follows the year of the said elections, referendum the appropriate legislative (representative) body shall provide for repayment of these credits in a separate line in the budget to be approved. Repayment of the credit shall be guaranteed by the budget of the appropriate level by virtue of this Federal Law without adopting a decision to issue a guarantee.
6. Financial statements of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, election commissions of Subjects of Russian Federation, territorial election commissions, referendum commissions regarding spending of funds during the election and referendum shall be submitted to the Chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the legislative (representative) bodies of state power of Subjects of Russian Federation, representative bodies of local self-government, respectively.
Article 47. Electoral Funds and Procedure for Their Formation
1. Candidates shall be entitled to form their own electoral funds to finance their election campaign after a written notification of the relevant election commission made in compliance with Article 29 of this Federal Law by the candidates proper in respect of the collection of signatures in support of candidates. Electoral associations, electoral blocs that nominated lists of candidates shall be entitled to form electoral funds after the registration of their authorized representatives including, but not limited to with regard to financial issues with the relevant election commission. Registered candidates as well as electoral associations, electoral blocs that registered lists of candidates shall be entitled to continue the maintenance of their electoral funds in order to support election propaganda.
2. Candidates who run for election only on a list of candidates nominated by an electoral association, electoral bloc shall not form their own electoral funds.
3. Electoral funds of candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs may be formed by the following resources:
- the own funds of candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs, individual voters;
- the funds allocated to the candidate by the electoral association, electoral bloc, that nominated the candidate;
- voluntary donations of individuals and legal entities;
- the funds allocated to the candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc, by the relevant election commission after the registration of their candidate (list of candidates). The above funds shall be allocated to candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs in equal amounts.
4. No voluntary donations to electoral funds shall be allowed from foreign states, enterprises, organizations, citizens, stateless persons, international organizations, Russian legal entities with foreign participation, if the share of foreign capital exceeds 30 per cent, citizens of the Russian Federation who have not attained to the age of 18, bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, state and municipal institutions and organizations, legal entities with a state or municipal share in their capital exceeding 30 per cent and legal entities enjoying tax benefits, military units, law enforcement bodies, charity organizations, religious associations and from anonymous sources.
5. Federal laws, laws of Subjects of Russian Federation set the ultimate size of the funds belonging to candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs, transferable to the electoral funds and the funds allocated to candidates by the electoral association, electoral bloc that nominated the candidate and voluntary donations of individuals and legal entities as well as the limits for spending the assets from electoral funds.
6. All money forming an electoral fund shall be remitted to a special bank account. This account shall be opened by a candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc with the permission of the appropriate election commission.
7. When elections are held to bodies of state power the procedure for opening and maintaining the said accounts, accounting and reporting in respect of the resources of electoral funds shall be established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation with the concurrence of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. When elections are held to bodies of state power of Subjects of Russian Federation and also to bodies of local self-government the procedure for opening and maintaining the said accounts, accounting and reporting in respect of the resources of electoral funds shall be established by the appropriate election commission of Subject of Russian Federation with the concurrence of the national banks, main departments of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in Subjects of Russian Federation.
8. The right to manage the resources of electoral funds shall belong to candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs that formed them.
9. The resources of electoral funds shall be purpose-oriented. They may be used only for the payment of expenses on the election campaign.
10. The resources of electoral funds may be used for:
a) funding organizational-technical arrangements for the collection of signatures in support of nomination of a candidate (list of candidates);
b) election campaigning;
c) remuneration of citizens of the Russian Federation for the work (services) directly related to election campaigning which they performed (rendered);
d) payment of rent for premises, equipment, travel and transportation expenses, payment for communication services, office goods and payment of other expenses directly related to election campaigning.
11. Legal entities and individuals shall be entitled to render financial (material) support to the activities in favor of candidates only through the relevant electoral funds. Legal entities, their affiliates, representative offices, and other units shall be prohibited to render free of charge work, services directly or indirectly related to the election. Individuals shall be allowed to render on a voluntary, free of charge basis work, services, provide goods related to the preparation and administration of elections, in such case, no third persons shall be engaged.
12. Candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs shall be prohibited to use money in order to pay signature collectors, for election propaganda, and other campaign events other than the money in their electoral funds. If a candidate, registered candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc used assets other than those in electoral funds during the signature collection, election propaganda activities of other campaign events, the relevant election commission shall be entitled to cancel the registration of such candidate (list of candidates). If these violations have been detected after publication of election results, the election commission shall be entitled to apply to a court for declaring the election of the candidate (list of candidates) null and void.
13. Upon request of an election commission the bank which services the electoral fund account of a registered candidate shall periodically furnish to the election commission which registered the candidate (list of candidates) the information about the receipt and expenditure of funds on the account of the given registered candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc.
14. Up to the voting day the appropriate election commission shall send the information concerning the receipt and expenditure of resources of electoral funds to mass media for publication therein. The mass media indicated in Clause 1 of Article 39 of this Federal Law shall, using their current financing, publish the said information furnished to them by election commissions within three days upon its receipt.
15. A candidate, registered candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc not later than 30 days after the publication of the election outcome, shall submit to the relevant election commission a statement specifying the size and all sources of their funds and all spending. The copies of the above statements shall be provided by the election commissions to the mass media for publication.
16. A candidate, registered candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc shall remit the balance on the special account to the accounts of organizations and to persons that made donations or transfers in proportion to the amounts donated by them. Upon expiration of 30 days after the voting day, on a written instruction of the election commission the bank shall, without the right of recourse, remit a part of the funds due to the appropriate election commission to the commission's account. Upon expiration of 60 days after the voting day, on a written instruction of the election commission the other money remaining on the special account of a candidate, registered candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc shall be remitted by the bank to the appropriate budget.
17. The procedure for taxation on the assets in electoral funds, voluntary donations and transfers to the above funds as well as the spending of assets from such funds shall be set forth by a federal law.
18. Election commissions shall exercise control over the formation and spending of the special electoral funds of candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs.
19. The procedure for formation and expenditure of funds for participation in a referendum shall be established by federal constitutional laws, federal laws, laws of Subjects of Russian Federation, charters of municipal units.
Article 48. Audit Service
In order to exercise control over proper spending of funds allocated to election commissions, referendum commissions for the preparation and administration of elections, referenda, as well as to exercise control over the sources of funds, proper accounting and use of electoral funds, and in order to audit financial statements of candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs, initiative groups for referendum the audit services shall be established under the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and the election commissions of Subjects of Russian Federation with experts of the state bodies being engaged for such purposes. The establishment of the audit services under other election commissions, referendum commissions shall be regulated by this Federal Law, federal constitutional laws, other federal laws, laws of Subjects of Russian Federation.
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