Political Finance Database

In Poland, a political party may not accept funds originating from: 1) natural persons who do not have a place of residence in the Republic of Poland, with the exception of Polish citizens living abroad, 2) foreigners who have a place of residence in the Republic of Poland.

The financial resources of the election committee for the candidate for President of the Republic can only come from the contributions of Polish citizens with permanent domicile in the Polish Republic, and the election funds of political parties and bank loans taken out for purposes related to elections.

A political party may receive funds only from natural persons, subject to the provisions of paragraph 2, Article 24 (4) and (7), Article 28 (1) and the provisions of acts of law concerning elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and to the Senate of the Republic of Poland as well as elections to the European Parliament, regarding earmarked subsidy.

The same provision that bans donations from corporates to political parties applies to all types of election campaigns in Poland.

1. Assets of political parties shall accrue from membership fees, gifts, inheritance, bequests, property income and subventions and subsidies specified by acts of law. 2. A political party’s assets may only be used for purposes in line with its constitution or for charitable purposes. 3. A political party may not carry on business activities. 4. A political party may derive income from its assets originating only from: 1) interest paid on funds deposited in bank accounts and term deposits, 2) trading in Treasury bonds and Treasury bills, 3) sale of assets owned by it, 4) activities referred to in Article 27. 5. A political party may lend real estate and premises owned by it only for use as offices of deputies and senators as well as offices of municipal, county or provincial councillors. 6. A political party may not carry out public collections. 7. A political party may take out bank loans for purposes in line with its constitution. 8. A political party may accumulate funds only in bank accounts, subject to Article 26a.

Trade unions cannot fund the candidates in elections. The funding coalition election committee shall only come from election funds of political parties comprising the coalition election.  Financial resources of: 1) the election committee of an organization, 2) the voters election committee - shall only come from the contributions of Polish citizens with their permanent domicile in the Polish Republic, and bank loans taken out solely for purposes related to elections. The financial resources of the election committee for the candidate for President of the Republic can only come from the contributions of Polish citizens with permanent domicile in the Polish Republic, and the election funds of political parties and bank loans taken out for purposes related to elections.

Anonymous donations, as well as contributions from foreign sources and legal entities are prohibited to political parties.

The Election Committee created to campaign for a candidate is obliged to keep records of: payment from one individual of a value exceeding the amount of the minimum wage, defined under the Act of 10 October 2002 on the minimum wage, as applicable on the day preceding the announcement of the date of elections, indicating the name, surname and place of residence of such person.

Legal persons cannot donate at all to political parties or election commeeties.

See the comment above

See the comment above

See the comment above

The total sum of payments from a natural person to a political party, excluding membership fees amounting in any given year to not more than the minimum wage set in pursuance of separate regulations, prevailing on the day immediately preceding the date of payment, as well as payments to the Election Fund of a political party may not exceed in any given year 15 times the minimum wage set in pursuance of separate regulations, prevailing on the day immediately preceding the date of payment.

The total sum of payments from a natural person to a political party, excluding membership fees amounting in any given year to not more than the minimum wage set in pursuance of separate regulations, prevailing on the day immediately preceding the date of payment, as well as payments to the Election Fund of a political party may not exceed in any given year 15 times the minimum wage set in pursuance of separate regulations, prevailing on the day immediately preceding the date of payment.

The sum of contributions from a Polish citizen for the election committee may not exceed 15 times the minimum wage, defined under the Act of 10 October 2002 on the minimum wage (Journal of Laws No. 200, item. 1679 , 2004, No. 240, item. 2407 and of 2005 No. 157, item. 1314), in force on the day preceding the date of announcement of elections.

The sum of contributions from a Polish citizen for the election committee may not exceed 15 times the minimum wage, defined under the Act of 10 October 2002 on the minimum wage (Journal of Laws No. 200, item. 1679 , 2004, No. 240, item. 2407 and of 2005 No. 157, item. 1314), in force on the day preceding the date of announcement of elections.

Legal persons are not allowed to fund political parties.

One natural person during a political campaign can donate for each independent political campaign participant (party or candidate) a donation which does not exceed the amount of 15 average monthly earnings valid in the fourth quarter of the previous calendar year (hereinafter: 'AMEs'). During a calendar year the total amount of donations by one natural person for independent political campaign participants may not exceed 10 per cent of the amount of the annual income declared by the natural person for the last calendar year.

The sum of contributions from a Polish citizen for the election committee may not exceed 15 times the minimum wage, defined under the Act of 10 October 2002 on the minimum wage (Journal of Laws No. 200, item. 1679 , 2004, No. 240, item. 2407 and of 2005 No. 157, item. 1314), in force on the day preceding the date of announcement of elections.

A candidate for MP, a candidate for senator, candidate for President of the Republic, and candidate for MEP who is a Polish citizen can contribute to the election committee a sum of not more than 45 times the minimum salary for the work defined under separate regulations, in force on the day following the date of announcement of elections.

The limit of 15 minimum monthly wages in a year applies to in-kind donations as well

Electoral committees may not accept in-kind benefits, with the exception of free dissemination of posters, slogans and leaflets by individuals.

A political party can not do business. In Poland a political party may derive income from its assets originating only from: own activities carried out by a political party involving sale of the text of its constitution or the party’s programme, as well as items symbolising the party and publications promoting the political party’s purposes and activities as well as the provision of minor services to third persons using the party’s own office equipment shall not be deemed business activities within the meaning of separate regulations.

A political party may take out bank loans for purposes in line with its constitution.

The financial resources of the election committee for the candidates in elections can only come from the contributions of Polish citizens with permanent domicile in the Polish Republic, and the election funds of political parties and bank loans taken out for purposes related to elections

§ 5 The funds may be contributed to the electoral committee by bank check, bank transfer or bank (debit/credit) card.

Assets of political parties shall accrue from membership fees, gifts, inheritance, bequests, property income and subventions and subsidies specified by acts of law.

A political party which: 1) in an election to the Sejm, having independently formed an electoral committee, received nationwide at least 3% of validly cast votes on its district lists of candidates for deputies, or 2) in an election to the Sejm was a member of a coalition, whose district lists of candidates for deputies received nationwide at least 6% of validly cast votes, shall be entitled to receive for the duration of the term of office of the Sejm, in the manner and in accordance with the rules set out in this Act, a subsidy from the state budget for its activities envisaged by its constitution, hereinafter referred to as the “subsidy”

The amount of the annual subsidy referred to in Article 28 for a given political party or an electoral coalition shall be determined on a gradual degression basis pro rata to the total number of valid votes cast on district lists of candidates for deputies of such a party or electoral coalition, with breakdown by the number of votes corresponding to individual percentage brackets, in accordance with the following formula: S = W1 x M1 + W2 x M2 + W3 x M3 + W4 x M4 + W5 x M5 where individual symbols mean: S - amount of annual subsidy, W1-5 - numbers of votes calculated successively for each line of the following table, provided separately as a result of breaking down the total number of valid votes cast nationwide on district lists of candidates for deputies from a given political party or electoral coalition according to the percentage bracket, M1-5 - amount in PLN for consecutive lines, based on the total valid votes cast nationwide on district lists of candidates for deputies from a given political party or electoral coalition with breakdown respectively for each bracket as follows:

1. up to 5% of votes - PLN 10.00/ per 1 vote

2. above 5%  - up to 10% - PLN 8.00

3. above 10% up to 20% - PLN 7.00

4. above 20% up to 30% - PLN 4.00

5. above 30% - PLN 1.50.

Subsidies may be used for both campaign activities and ongoing party activities. 

A political party which is in receipt of the subsidy shall remit between 5% and 15% of the subsidy to the Expert Fund. Funds accumulated in the Expert Fund may be used to finance legal, political, sociological and socio-economic expert opinions and to finance publishing and educational activities relating to a political party’s business envisaged by its constitution.

In regards to the election campaign, the political party, whose election committee participated in the elections, the political party comprising an election coalition committee, and the election committee of voters participating in elections to the Sejm and the Senate is entitled to a grant from the state budget, hereinafter referred to as an “entity subsidy”, for each mandate for deputy and senator obtained. Expenses incurred as a result of the entity subsidy shall be covered by the state budget from the section on Budget for public finance and financial institutions.

The amount of subsidy is calculated as follows:

Dp = W/560 x M

where the symbols are defined as: Dp - the amount of subsidy afforded, W - total campaign expenses of election committees (up to the amount of spending limits allocated to electoral committees in elections to the Sejm and the Senate), which received at least one mandate, M - the number of mandates of deputies and senators received by the election committee. The entity subsidy applies only to expenditures revealed in financial reports.

There is no other source of public funding, however the share of state subsidies it very high. For instance, according to parliamentary political parties’ websites, the proportion of public funding to party budgets is around 80 per cent (2015 year). In 2013, for instance, public funding represented 86 per cent of the PiS’s income, 80 per cent of the PO, and 75 per cent of the PSL (PIS, PO, PSL - are three major parties from the Parliament)

Bribery is sanctioned, provisions provided by the Criminal Law.

Campaign expenditure is limited to PLN 0.82 per voter for the Sejm elections and PLN 0.18 per voter for the Senat elections. The spending limit is electoral committee-specific and its calculation depends on the number of candidates the committee registers. For the presidential election, campaign expenditure of the electoral committees is limited to PLN 0.60 per voter (a total of some PLN 18.3 million) equivalent to approximately EUR 4.5 million.

Expenses for the presidential campaign are not compensated by the state subsidy.Committees that register candidates for the Sejm and the Senat in all constituencies have a nationwide maximum spending limit of PLN 30,629,150.28 .

According to the law, up to 80 per cent of this amount can be spent for advertising. During the campaign, each electoral committee must appoint a financial representative responsible for the committee’s financial management

Campaign expenditure is limited to PLN 0.82 per voter for the Sejm elections and PLN 0.18 per voter for the Senat elections. The spending limit is electoral committee-specific and its calculation depends on the number of candidates the committee registers. Committees that register candidates for the Sejm and the Senat in all constituencies have a nationwide maximum spending limit of PLN 30,629,150.28 According to the law, up to 80 per cent of this amount can be spent for advertising. During the campaign, each electoral committee must appoint a financial representative responsible for the committee’s financial management

Expenditure of the election committee for election propaganda conducted in the forms and based on the principles of advertising, including in the press within the meaning of the Act of 26 January 1984 - Law baler-in, can not exceed 80% of the limit of total expenses.

Committees that register candidates for the Sejm and the Senat in all constituencies have a nationwide maximum spending limit of PLN 30,629,150.28 

online advertising is a type of advertising thus it is inclded in the total limit of 80% of the nationwide maximum spending limit of PLN 30,629,150.28 

1. Political parties shall prepare an annual financial statement of the received subsidy and expenses paid out of the subsidy, hereinafter referred to as the "statement". 2008-10-07 2. Political parties shall submit the statement for the calendar year to the State Electoral Commission by 31 March of the following year. 3. The minister responsible for public finances, having consulted the State Electoral Commission, shall specify, by way of a regulation, the specimen of the statement together with necessary guidance as to the manner of preparing same as well as the scope of data contained therein, such as to allow, in particular, reliable verification of data on the use of subsidy proceeds, including proceeds of the Expert Fund. 4. The statement shall be filed together with the appended opinion and report of the registered auditor appointed by the State Electoral Commission. Costs of preparing the opinion and the report shall be covered by the National Electoral Office. 4a. The statement shall be filed in writing and on a computer data storage medium, whose type and software format shall be specified by the minister responsible for public finances in the regulation referred to in paragraph 3.2

A political party shall submit to the State Electoral Commission, by 31 March of each year at the latest, a report on the sources of raised funds, including bank loans and terms on which these were obtained and on spending out of the Election Fund in the previous calendar year, hereinafter referred to as the "report". 2. The minister responsible for public finances, having consulted the State Electoral Commission, shall specify, by way of a regulation, the specimen of the report, together with necessary guidance as to the manner of preparing same as well as a list of documents to be appended. The specimen shall specify in particular the manner of separate accounting for proceeds of the Election Fund of a political party. 3. The report shall be appended with an opinion and report of the registered auditor covering receipts into the Election Fund of political party. The registered auditor shall be appointed by the State Electoral Commission and costs of preparing the opinion and the report shall be covered by the National Electoral Office. 3a. The report shall be filed in writing and on a computer data storage medium, whose type and software format shall be specified by the minister responsible for public finances in the regulation referred to in paragraph 2.

§ 1 Within 3 months from the date of the election, the financial representative shall submit to the competent electoral body, to which the elections committee submitted its notification of establishment, a report on revenues, expenditures and financial commitments of the committee, including bank loans and the basis on which they were obtained hereinafter referred to as "financial report." § 2 If the financial report shall be submitted to the National Electoral Commission to reporting statements shall be accompanied by an auditor's report. § 3 An auditor's opinion and report, is not required in the cases where the financial representatives submits a declaration within 30 days of election day, notifying the competent authority that the election committee had no income, no expenses were incurred and no financial obligations were undertaken. § 4 The auditor referred to in § 2, the National Electoral Commission is selected from among candidates nominated by the National Council of Chartered Accountants in the number agreed with the National Electoral Commission. § 5 The election commissioner, examining the financial reports, may order analysis, expert opinion and reports. § 6 The costs of an opinion and the reports referred to in § 2 and 5, are charged to the state budget in the Budget, in the section on public finances and financial institutions. § 7 The minister responsible for public finance, after consultation with the State Electoral Commission, shall, by regulation, establish the form of financial reports and the detailed scope of information required to be contained therein as well as a list of the types of documents that must accompany the financial report, so to enable verification of the reports and information provided.

Political Parties' reports shall be published by the State Electoral Commission in the Official Journal of the Republic of Poland "Monitor Polski" within 14 days of the date of filing thereof with the State Electoral Commission.

In elections to the Sejm and the Senate, the European Parliament elections and election of the President of the Republic, the National Electoral Commission publishes the financial reports of the election committees within 30 days from the date of their submission, in the Public Information Bulletin.

All electoral committees are obliged to submit reports, checked by an auditor, to the NEC, within three months after election day. Electoral committees have to submit all information regarding a donation or a loan within seven days of receipt. However, this obligation only applies to committees of voters given that party and coalition committees’ resources can only come from the party’s election fund. Details regarding contributions made to a party or a coalition are not made public until the party submits its financial report to the NEC (at the latest, on 31 March of the following year). 

Political parties that receive annual state subventions are obliged to submit by 31 March annual finance reports to the NEC, in which they report on all party income, expenses from the election fund and expenditures financed from the state subvention. However, these financial reports are not required to contain information about the expenses of the party for statutory activities not funded by state subventions. 

THE INFORMATION IN THE LEGAL ACTS IS TOO BROAD

Political parties that receive annual state subventions are obliged to submit by 31 March annual finance reports to the NEC, in which they report on all party income, expenses from the election fund and expenditures financed from the state subvention. However, these financial reports are not required to contain information about the expenses of the party for statutory activities not funded by state subventions.

The NEC is the oversight body responsible for checking the reports submitted by political parties and electoral committees, including audit reports and opinions. The NEO’s unit for control of financing of political parties and election campaigns comprises seven employees and helps the NEC to perform its supervision tasks. There is no campaign finance supervision during the campaign or until the accounts are submitted. The NEC has to decide within six months following the submission of a report whether to accept it, with or without reservations, or to reject it. The NEC cannot go beyond the information and documentation submitted by electoral committees and political parties, but can turn to law enforcement agencies in case it suspects violations of political finance regulations. 

According to the law, the NEC can reject a party’s annual report based on minor transgressions, which can lead to the withdrawal of state support for up to three years. In 2012, the Constitutional Tribunal considered the proportionality of relevant sanctions to possible violations and ruled that applicable political and campaign finance rules were in conformity with the Constitution. International standards require that sanctions be effective, bear a relationship to the type of violations, and respect the principle of proportionality.

NEC doesn't have a sanctioning mandate, only oversight. However the oversight of political and campaign finance by the NEC fair, but noted that its effectiveness is limited by insufficient regulation on spending reporting as well as shortage of human resources. Some parties pointed out that requirements of accounting for and reporting on campaign finance are cumbersome, in particular during this prolonged campaign period extended over both elections. The OSCE/ODIHR NAM was informed that the requirement for the disclosure of financial information by parties and electoral committees is of limited effectiveness, as they only need to submit receipts without specifying the nature of the expenses, which may limit the transparency of the campaign finance system.

According to the law, the NEC can reject a party’s annual report based on minor transgressions, which can lead to the withdrawal of state support for up to three years. OSCE/ODIHR noted that more effective and proportionate legal sanctions needed to be introduced