Ukraine introduces state funding of political parties

A total of 229 MPs voted for bill No. 2123-a on amending some legislative acts on preventing and combating political corruption at a meeting on Thursday, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported. The document was adopted with amendments which were announced in the parliamentary hall by MP Ruslan Kniazevych. The public funding of political parties will start on July 1, 2016. According to the law, state funding will be provided to the parties that passed the 5% threshold at parliamentary elections. According to the law, the state budget provides funds for the statutory activities of political parties, which are not connected with their participation in elections, and reimburses parties' expenses related to the financing of their election campaign during parliamentary elections. The annual volume of the state funding of statutory activities of political parties will amount to 0.02 of a minimum wage, as established on January 1 of the year proceeding the year of the allocation of the state budget, multiplied by the total number of voters who participated in voting nationwide. An additional 10% will be awarded as a bonus to the political parties which comply with the principle of gender balance. The law also states that the total amount of a contribution for the support of a party by a citizen of Ukraine in one year cannot exceed 400 minimum wages. The maximum amount of the contribution of legal entities is 800 minimum wages. According to the law, political parties cannot be financed by government and municipal agencies, as well as legal entities, which have a more than 10% share of the statutory capital, which is owned by the state or local government. Foreign states and foreign legal entities or individuals are forbidden from making any contributions to political parties. The document lays down the procedure of financial reporting of a political party.