Home > 2.6 Campaign finance > RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Federal Law on Presidential Elections in the Russian Federation
 
 
 
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Article 56
 

(as amended by Federal Law No. 93-FZ of July 21, 2005)


1. No restrictions as specified in Clauses 1 and 1.1, Article 56 of the Federal Law On Basic Guarantees of Voting Rights and the Right to Take Part in a Referendum Belonging to the Russian Federation Citizens, shall be violated.
(clause 1 as amended by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)


2. When holding election campaigns, candidates, their agents and authorized representatives for financial issues, political parties, their agents and authorized representatives as well as any other persons and organizations shall be forbidden to bribe voters: give them any money, gifts and other material values save as in consideration for any organizational activities (collection of voter signatures, campaigning activities), provide or promise to provide voters with any compensation for their organizational activities subject to the results of voting, sell goods at lower prices, distribute any goods free of charge, except for printed materials (including illustrated ones) and badges produced for the purposes of election campaigning, as well as provide any services free of charge or at lower prices. When holding election campaigns, candidates, their agents and authorized representatives for financial issues, political parties, their agents and authorized representatives as well as any other persons and organizations shall not be entitled to affect voters by promising them any money, securities or other material values (including subject to the results of voting) or by providing any services to voters otherwise than on the basis of the resolutions passed by government bodies and local authorities in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation.
(as amended by Federal Law No. 93-FZ of July 21, 2005)


3. No lotteries or other risk-based games where prize winning or participation in prize drawing is subject to the voting results or those otherwise connected with the election of the President of the Russian Federation shall be held during the election campaign period.
(clause 3 as amended by Federal Law No. 93-FZ of July 21, 2005)


4. During the election campaign period, commercials and any other advertising of any activities related to the election of the President of the Russian Federation using names or images of the candidates as well as any advertising using names, emblems and other symbols of the political parties that nominated the candidates shall only be paid out of the relevant electoral fund. No such commercials of advertising including those paid out of the relevant electoral fund shall be permitted to be displayed on the voting day and the day before.
(clause 4 as amended by Federal Law No. 93-FZ of July 21, 2005)


5. Candidates, their agents and authorized representatives for financial issues, political parties, their agents and authorized representatives as well as any organizations registered upon commencement of the election campaign with the specified persons and/or political parties as their founders, owners and/or members of management bodies (or members of the bodies managing the affairs of organizations with the general meeting as the supreme management body) shall not be entitled to perform any charity work during the election campaign period. No other persons or legal entities shall be entitled to perform any charity work at the request, upon instruction or on behalf of the specified candidates, political parties, agents and authorized representatives, or engage in election campaigning and perform charity work at the same time. The specified candidates, political parties, agents and authorized representatives shall be forbidden to apply to any other persons and legal entities with an offer to provide material or financial support or services to voters.
(clause 5 as amended by Federal Law No. 93-FZ of July 21, 2005)


5.1. Campaigning materials shall contain no commercial advertising.
(clause 5.1 has been introduced by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)


5.2. No registered candidate or political party that nominated a registered candidate shall be entitled to use the air time on channels of TV and radio broadcasting organizations as provided to them for placement of campaigning materials, for the purposes as follows:


1) to make calls for voting against any candidate (candidates);
2) to describe any possible negative consequences of a certain candidate being elected;
3) to distribute any information with a focus on any candidate (candidates) or political party that nominated a
registered candidate with negative comments on the same;
4) to distribute any information promoting a negative attitude of voters towards a candidate or a political
party that nominated a registered candidate.
(clause 5.2 has been introduced by Federal Law No. 64-FZ of April 26, 2007)


6. If mass media organizations make public (publish) campaigning and information materials (including those containing accurate information) as may damage honor and dignity or business reputation of a candidate or business reputation of a political party that nominated a registered candidate, they shall give the relevant candidate or political party a chance to make public (publish), free of charge, a contradiction or some other explanation in defense of his/its honor, dignity or business reputation before the end of the election campaigning period. The air time as granted for the specified contradiction or some other explanation to be made public shall be provided to a candidate or a political party at the same time of the day at which the original information was made public and such time shall not be shorter than the air time as provided for the original information to be made public, but at least two minutes. The text of the published contradiction or any other explanation shall be typed with the same font and placed on the page in the same manner and shall not be smaller than the text subject to contradiction. Failure to give a candidate or a political party a chance to make public (publish) such a contradiction or any other explanation before the end of the election campaigning period shall be a reason to hold the relevant mass media organization and its officers liable in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation. The requirements as set forth in this Clause shall not be applied to the events of placement of any campaigning materials as submitted by the registered candidates or political parties when using their free of payable air time and printable area in accordance with this Federal Law.
(clause 6 as amended by Federal Law No. 93-FZ of July 21, 2005)


7. Law enforcement and other bodies shall take measures to stop illegal campaigning activities, prevent production of false and illegal printed, audio and visual and other campaigning materials, withdraw such materials, identify the producers of such materials and the sources of their financing and promptly inform the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and the election commission of a Constituent of the Russian Federation of the facts established and measures taken.


8. Election commissions shall monitor compliance with the established procedure for election campaigning and take measures to cure any breaches. In case of distribution of any false printed, audio and visual and other campaigning materials, distribution of campaigning materials in violation of the requirements as set forth in Article 55 of this Federal Law or violation of the election campaigning procedure as established herein by any TV and radio broadcasting organization or office of a printed periodical, the relevant election commission shall apply to law enforcement authorities, to the court or to the federal executive authority in charge of supervision and control over mass communications with a request to stop illegal election campaigning activities, withdraw illegal campaigning materials and hold the TV and radio broadcasting organization or office of the printed periodical and their officers as well as other persons liable in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation.
(clause 8 as amended by Federal Law No. 93-FZ of July 21, 2005)