Private financing of elections

1. Pre-election campaigns of candidates at elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and elections of deputies of Parliament and maslikhats can be funded from the election funds formed in compliance with the procedure established by this Constitutional Act.

2. The election funds shall be subject to the state registration in the order established by the legislation.

3. The election funds shall be formed from the following sources:

1) personal means of candidates, funds of political parties;

2) means allocated to the candidate by the republican public association that has nominated the candidate;

3) voluntary donations of citizens and organizations of the Republic. The voluntary donations of the state bodies and organizations, local self-government bodies, charitable organizations, religious associations, legal entities of Kazakhstan having foreign stock in their charter capital as well as anonymous donations of physical persons and legal entities shall be forbidden.

4. Only the funds that have been received in a legal way can be transferred to the election funds. Within ten days after publication of the election results the information about the total sum of the money transferred to the fund and about its sources shall be published in mass media by:

the Central Election Commission – at elections of the President, deputies to Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan to be elected on the basis of party lists;

the oblasts (the city of the republican status and the capital) election commissions - at election of deputies to the Senate of the Parliament;

the district election commissions – at election of maslikhat deputies.

5. The maximum size of the financial resources which can be transferred to the election funds from the aforementioned sources shall be determined in the Special part of this Constitutional Act. The financial resources received above the established limit shall not be transferred to the election funds and shall be refunded to the citizens and organizations that have donated the money.

In this case the expenses associated with refund of the indicated money shall be covered at the expense of citizens and organizations that have contributed in these funds. Anonymous donations shall be transferred to the republican budget as the state revenue.

6. The financial resources forming the election fund shall be kept at a special temporary bank account, opened in the financial bodies by the corresponding election commission after registration of the candidate or the party list. No income shall be charged or paid for this account.

The right to give the name of the election fund for the purposes specified in this Constitutional Act shall belong exclusively to the candidate and the political parties, which have nominated their party lists. The banks shall submit to the corresponding election commission a weekly report on the transfers to the funds to the special temporary bank accounts as well as on spending. Upon the inquiry of the corresponding election commission, the same data shall be provided within twenty four hours. The order of spending the money from the election funds and the corresponding financial institution shall be determined by the Central Election Commission.

7. In case of withdrawing by the candidate of his/her candidature, calling back by the political party of the party list or cancellation of the decision to nominate a candidate, a party list or registration of the candidate, the party list, the financial resources which have been contributed to the election fund shall be immediately refunded to the citizens and organizations that have contributed their money. In this case the cost of refund of the indicated finances shall be covered at the expense of the above mentioned citizens and organizations.

8. All financial transactions including settlements with physical persons and legal entities, due deductions, taxes and other payments to the budget from the special temporary bank accounts shall be stopped at 6 pm on the day proceeding the day of elections.

In case of a rerun of a vote the marginal sum of money to be allowed for transfer to the candidate’s election fund shall be increased by one and a half times.

At the conduct of a rerun of a vote, the financial transactions to special temporary bank accountsof candidates in respect to whom the rerun of a vote is conducted shall be resumed on the day of appointment of a rerun of a vote and shall be stopped at 6 pm on the day proceeding the day of elections.

The total sum of the money to be transferred to the election fund from the moment of its formation should not exceed the limits established by this Constitutional Act.

9. Within five days after establishment of the results of the elections, the candidate and the political party shall be obliged to present to the corresponding election commission a report on the estimation of the funds from the election fund. The two thirds of the financial resources from the election fund that have not been spent for the electoral campaign shall be transferred to the republican budget, and one third shall be returned to the candidate and the political party.

10. Infringement by the candidate and the political party that has nominated its party list of the rules stipulated by clauses 1-8 of this Article as well as of the procedure on spending the funds  from the election funds established by the Central Election Commission shall entail cancellation of the decision on registration of the candidate or the party list. After conduct of elections before registration of the candidate as the President, the deputy of the Parliament, the maslikhat deputy and member of other local self-government bodies - declaration of the elections in the corresponding territory or district as null and void.