#10 - JRL 7305
RosBusinessConsulting
August 28, 2003
Election funds raised six-fold

The Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation has issued an instruction on the formation and use of money resources of election funds of candidates, political parties and electoral blocs during elections to the State Duma.

Alexander Veshnyakov, Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, said that the amount of money a candidate would be allowed to spend on his election campaign in a single member constituency had been raised from RUR 1m (about $32,905) to RUR 6m (about $197,433). For electoral associations, the sum of money was increased from RUR 40m (about $1.32m) to RUR 250m (about $8.22m).

He said the size of the "electoral pledge" had been increased from RUR 2m to RUR 37.5m, which is 15 percent of the amount that can be spent on the election campaign. If a candidate gathers more than 5 percent of the vote but doesn't get elected to the State Duma, he gets the money back. And political parties should collect 3 percent, Mr. Veshnyakov noted.

He added that the size of donations to election funds that legal entities and individuals can make had also been increased. According to Mr. Veshnyakov, the participants in the elections should pay for paid TV and radio air time in advance. Those political parties and blocs that fail to gather 3 percent of the vote, will have to return money for free air time that was provided to them to state-run TV and radio companies.

The Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission stressed that parties who had not paid their debts since last elections, would be allowed to take part in the elections, but they would not get free air time. He said the Central Electoral Commission would request information about such debtors from TV and radio campaigns right after the announcement of the elections. In addition, it will request a copy of financial reports of political parties.

Elections to the State Duma are scheduled for December 7, 2003. According to Mr. Veshnyakov, costs of this year's parliamentary election campaign had increased in connection with the necessity to finance the work of electoral commissions of different levels, and additional requirements regarding the protection of ballots.