Home > 2.6 Campaign finance > RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Federal Law on Elections of Deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
 
 
 
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Article 73
 

1. Voluntary donations of citizens to electoral funds shall be done through a postal office or a bank in person out of their own means by presenting a passport or an equivalent identity document. The following information shall be specified in the payment document: the citizen’s last name, first name and patronymic, date of birth, residence address, passport number or the number of an equivalent identity document, citizenship. Voluntary donations of legal entities to electoral funds shall be made by a bank wire transfer to a special electoral account. The payment order for donations shall specify the following information: the entity’s individual tax-payer number (INN), title, date of registration, banking details, note of lack of restrictions imposed in paragraph 6 of Article 58 of the Federal law "On Basic Guarantees”.


2. Voluntary donations to electoral funds shall be transmitted to special electoral accounts by postal offices or banks no later than on the day successive to the day of receipt of a respective payment document. The total time for processing the payment made by a bank wire transfer shall not exceed 3 working days, starting from the day of debiting the funds from the payer bank account or the day of submission of cash for transfer without opening an account.


3. A political party, its regional branch, candidate shall be entitled to return the donation made to its electoral fund to the donor unless the donor is anonymous. In the event a voluntary donation to an electoral fund should be made by a citizen or a legal entity who (which) lack the right to make such donations or should such donation be made in breach of requirements set forth in part 1 of this Article, or should it be made in an amount exceeding the maximum limit set forth in Article 71 of this Federal Law, the political party, its regional branch, candidate shall within ten days of receipt of the donation return it in full or return the part which exceeds the said maximum limit to the donor (deducting the wire costs) and specifying the reasons of return. A political party, its regional party, candidate shall not be responsible for the acceptance of donations which were made by donors who provided the wrong information stipulated in part 1 of this Article, provided the political party its regional branch.


4. A political party, its regional branch, a candidate shall be entitled to recover its own funds listed in their electoral funds. A candidate nominated by a political party for the single-mandate electoral district shall be entitled to return to the political party its own funds listed in his electoral fund.


5. Donations to electoral funds made by anonymous donors shall within ten days of receipt of such donations be transferred to the state budget.


6. Citizens and legal entities shall be entitled to provide financial support to a political party exclusively through its electoral fund. It shall be prohibited to render paid services, do paid work or sell/purchase goods if such activities directly or indirectly pertain to elections of deputies of the State Duma and seek certain election results unless they are paid out of a respective electoral fund with a duly documented consent of an authorized financial agent of the political party, its regional chapter, candidate. No cash shall be used for the settlement of accounts between a political party, its regional branch and a legal entity for the said work (services), for the said goods.


7. Legal entities, their branches, representations or other subdivisions shall be prohibited to do work (render services) free of charge or at a price below (or above) normal pricing, if such work (services) directly or indirectly pertain to elections of deputies of the State Duma and seek certain election results. Material support to a political party, a candidate if seeking a certain election results, shall not be provided unless it is compensated for at the expense of a respective electoral fund.


8. Citizens shall be entitled to do work (render services) free of charge, in person and without involvement of an outside workforce for the benefit of a political party, its regional branch, a candidate in the course of election campaign.