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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 a Subject of the 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 the Russian Federation and local budgets, unless federal laws and laws of Subjects of the 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 the 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. Within ten days upon receipt of a request from an election commission, a referendum commission the Government of the Russian Federation the relevant body of executive power of a Subject of the Russian Federation, an authorized body of local self-government shall provide to the commission a state of a municipal guarantee of meeting the commitment to repay the credits including interest thereon.
5. The received credits and interest thereon shall be repaid from the federal budget, budget of a Subject of the Russian Federation, local budget depending on the level of the elections, referendum. Allocations for meeting this debt commitment shall be approved by a law or some other statutory act on the budget for the next financial year, specifying the purpose of the allocations.
6. Financial statements of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, election commissions of Subjects of the 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 the Russian Federation, representative bodies of local self-government, respectively. Chairpersons of election commissions, referendum commissions shall control the funds allocated for the preparation and administration of the elections and shall be responsible for the conformity of financial documents with resolutions of election commissions, referendum commissions on financial matters and for the submission of financial reports on the expenditure of the said funds when and as established by the federal constitutional laws, federal laws, laws of Subjects of the Russian Federation, charters of municipal units.
7. In the event of elections to the federal bodies of state power, a referendum of the Russian Federation the rules for opening and maintaining accounts, accounting and reporting, remitting money allocated to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, other election commissions, referendum commissions shall be established by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and agreed upon with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. In the event of elections to bodies of state power of Subjects of the Russian Federation, referenda of Subjects of the Russian Federation and elections to bodies of local self-government and local referenda the rules for opening and maintaining accounts, accounting and reporting, remitting money allocated to the election commission of a Subject of the Russian Federation, other election commissions, referendum commissions shall be established by the election commission of the Subject of the Russian Federation and agreed upon with the Branch (national bank) of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the Subject of the Russian Federation. No fees shall be charged for opening the accounts of election commissions and referendum commissions and for conducting transactions through these accounts. Banks shall pay no interest on the funds kept on the said accounts.
As amended 3/30/99.
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 donations shall be made to the electoral funds of candidates, registered candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs by:
a) foreign states and foreign legal entities;
b) foreign citizens, except as otherwise provided in Clause 8 Article 4 of this Federal Law;
c) stateless persons;
d) citizens of the Russian Federation who have not attained to the age of 18;
e) Russian legal entities with foreign participation, if the foreign participating interest in their charter capital exceeds 30 percent as of the day on which the resolution setting the elections was officially published;
f) international organizations and international public movements;
g) bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government;
h) state and municipal institutions and organizations;
i) legal entities with a state or municipal share in their charter capital exceeding 30 percent as of the day on which the resolution setting the elections was officially published;
j) military units, military establishments, law enforcement bodies;
k) charity organizations, religious associations and organizations established by them;
l) anonymous donors (for an individual - donations without indication of any of the following data: first, middle and last name, residential address, date of birth; for a legal entity - donations without indication of any of the following data: tax payer identification number, name, registration date, bank account, note certifying absence of any state or municipal share in the charter capital or the presence of such a share and its size, note certifying absence of foreign participating interest in the charter capital or about the present of such interest and its relative share);
m) legal entities registered less than a year before voting day.
5. Federal laws, laws of Subjects of the 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 the 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 the Russian Federation with the concurrence of the national banks, main departments of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in Subjects of the 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 voter signatures in support of nomination of a candidate (list of candidates), including payment of labor remuneration to persons engaged for collection of voter signatures;
b) election propaganda and payment for information and consulting services;
c) payment for other services rendered by legal entities or citizens of the Russian Federation and payment of other expenses directly incidental to the conduct of the election campaign;
d) payment of an electoral deposit.
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. No paid work shall be done, no goods shall be sold, no paid services shall be provided if they are directly of indirectly connected with the elections, without a written consent of a candidate, registered candidate, persons authorized by them, an electoral association, electoral bloc to such performance of work, sale of goods, provision of services and to their payment from the relevant electoral fund. 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 candidate, registered candidate, an electoral association, electoral bloc shall periodically furnish to the election commission information about the receipt and expenditure of funds on the electoral account of the given candidate, 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 federal law, law of a Subject of the Russian Federation may establish that a registered candidate who has not been elected and who, according to voting returns, has polled less votes than the number of votes of voters who took part in the voting established by this federal law, law of a Subject of the Russian Federation, an electoral association, electoral bloc which has registered a list of candidates but has not taken part in the distribution of deputy mandates and, according to voting returns, has polled less votes than the number of votes of voters who took part in the voting established by this federal law, law of a Subject of the Russian Federation shall return to the relevant election commission the money that was remitted from the federal budget, budget of a Subject of the Russian Federation, local budget to the electoral fund of the registered candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc and other money received by the registered candidate, electoral association, electoral bloc from the corresponding budget in accordance with a federal law, law of a subject of the Russian Federation. A federal law, law of a Subject of the Russian Federation may also provide that the aforementioned electoral associations, electoral blocs shall reimburse TV and/or radio broadcasting organizations, editorial offices of periodicals for the expenses incurred by these TV and/or radio broadcasting organizations, editorial offices of periodicals in connection with the exercise by the electoral associations, electoral blocs of their right to conduct election propaganda using free air time and printing space. The said number of votes shall not exceed 3 percent of the number of votes of voters who took part in the voting in the given electoral district for registered candidates and more than 2 percent for electoral associations, electoral blocs.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. Election commissions shall exercise control over the formation and spending of the special electoral funds of candidates, registered candidates, electoral associations, electoral blocs.
As amended 3/30/99.
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. Upon request of an election commission not later than a month from the day on which the resolution setting the elections was officially published the said bodies and organizations shall place experts at its disposal for a period established by federal constitutional laws, federal laws, laws of Subjects of the Russian Federation. During this period the experts shall be temporarily released from the main job to perform their duties and shall be paid their salary and allowances at the main job. 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 the Russian Federation.
As amended 3/30/99.
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