Election/referendum campaign expense

1. An election/referendum campaign shall be funded from:

a) the funds of a political union if the party independently participates in the election/referendum;
b) the funds of the first party on the list of an electoral bloc if political unions come together as one electoral subject;
c) the election funds opened by an initiative group of voters to fund the campaign of an independent candidate.

1.1. The basis for opening a bank account in a licensed commercial bank of Georgia for electioneering of an initiative group of voters shall be an ordinance on the registration of this electoral subject of a Chairperson of a relevant election commission.

2. The campaign expense shall mean the amount of funds designated for the election/referendum campaign of an electoral subject, as well as all types of goods and services obtained free of charge (calculated at market prices), except for the cost of free airtime, as defined by this Law.

3. A candidate nominated by an electoral subject shall use the fund of the electoral subject nominating the candidate.

4. An electoral subject shall be obliged to submit to the State Audit Office of Georgia the information about the bank account, from which the necessary costs shall be funded for an election campaign.

5. Election/referendum campaign funds shall be the money deposited into the relevant bank account, as well as all goods and services received free of charge (calculated at market prices).

6. During elections, an electoral subject may not use other financial means than the respective funds.

7. Restrictions defined by the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens shall apply to the election/referendum campaign funds and sources of funding, except for the exclusion provided for by the eighth paragraph of this article.

8. Where an electoral bloc finances the election campaign, the parties united in the electoral bloc may, without restriction, transfer funds available in the fund of their political unions into the fund of the political union that is registered as number one on the list of the bloc.