Political Finance Database

Ndalohet ndihma financiare dhe materiale nga qeveri dhe nga ente publike ose private të huaja, si dhe nga ente vendase publike ose me pjesëmarrje të kapitalit shtetëror. Lejohen dhuratat dhe ndihmat që vijnë nga parti ose bashkime ndërkombëtare partish, nga organizata e fondacione politike, vendase e të huaja, si dhe nga individë, persona fizikë e juridikë privatë vendas.   

Financial assistance and materials from foreign public or private entities and from government is prohibited, or from Albanian public entities or those with the participation of state capital. Gifts and assistance that come from a party or international union of parties, from political foundations and organizations, Albanian and foreign, and from individuals who are Albanian private natural and juridical persons is permitted. Electoral subjects and their candidates may receive funds for the purposes of their electoral campaigns only from domestic natural or legal persons. For the purposes of this law, an Albanian citizen who resides outside the territory of the Republic of Albania shall also be considered a domestic natural person.

Electoral subjects and their candidates may receive funds for the purposes of their electoral campaigns only from domestic natural or legal persons. For the purposes of this law, an Albanian citizen who resides outside the territory of the Republic of Albania shall also be considered a domestic natural person.

Electoral subjects and their candidates may receive funds for the purposes of their electoral campaigns only from domestic natural or legal persons. For the purposes of this law, an Albanian citizen who resides outside the territory of the Republic of Albania shall also be considered a domestic natural person.

Every electoral subject must record in a designated register, whose template is approved by a CEC decision, the amount of funds benefited by every natural or legal person and other data related to the clear identification of the donor, lender, or creditor. Upon donation, the donor shall sign a declaration stating they are not in any of the circumstances provided for in Article 92/1 of this law and that they hold personal liability for false declaration. The form and content of the declaration shall be approved by the CEC and shall be mandatory to be signed in any case of donation.

Donation of funds by a legal person or any of its shareholders is prohibited if one of the following conditions apply:
a) has received public funds, public contracts, or concessions in the last 3 years, exceeding ALL 10 million. This prohibition shall also apply to sub-contracting or public-private partnership contracts;
b) exercises media activity;
c) has been a partner in different projects with public funds;
d) has monetary obligations towards the State Budget or any public institution

Donation of funds by a legal person or any of its shareholders is prohibited if one of the following conditions apply:
a) has received public funds, public contracts, or concessions in the last 3 years, exceeding ALL 10 million. This prohibition shall also apply to sub-contracting or public-private partnership contracts;
b) exercises media activity;
c) has been a partner in different projects with public funds;
d) has monetary obligations towards the State Budget or any public institution

Ndalohet ndihma financiare dhe materiale nga qeveri dhe nga ente publike ose private të huaja, si dhe nga ente vendase publike ose me pjesëmarrje të kapitalit shtetëror. 

Financial assistance and materials from foreign public or private entities and from government is prohibited, or from Albanian public entities or those with the participation of state capital.

Ndalohet ndihma financiare dhe materiale nga qeveri dhe nga ente publike ose private të huaja, si dhe nga ente vendase publike ose me pjesëmarrje të kapitalit shtetëror. 

Financial assistance and materials from foreign public or private entities and from government is prohibited, or from Albanian public entities or those with the participation of state capital.

Except when otherwise provided by law, resources of central or local public bodies or entities, or of any other type of entity in which the state holds capital or shares or/and appoints the majority of the supervisory or administrative body of the entity, regardless of the source of the capital or ownership, may not be used or made available to support candidates, political parties, or coalitions in elections.

Limit applies to election campaigns, there does not appear to be a mention of donations outside of it.

The amount that each natural or legal person may give to an electoral subject, including its candidates, may not be larger than ALL 1 million or the equivalent value in kind or services. The amount in the first sentence shall be indexed by the CEC each five years against the inflation rate.

The amount that each natural or legal person may give to an electoral subject, including its candidates, may not be larger than ALL 1 million or the equivalent value in kind or services. The amount in the first sentence shall be indexed by the CEC each five years against the inflation rate.

No specification in the Law regarding the own money of candidates.

The amount that each natural or legal person may give to an electoral subject, including its candidates, may not be larger than ALL 1 million or the equivalent value in kind or services. The amount in the first sentence shall be indexed by the CEC each five years against the inflation rate.

The amount that each natural or legal person may give to an electoral subject, including its candidates, may not be larger than ALL 1 million or the equivalent value in kind or services. The amount in the first sentence shall be indexed by the CEC each five years against the inflation rate.

Electoral subjects and their candidates shall be forbidden to organise, conduct, or cover expenditures, themselves or through third parties, for concerts, cultural and entertaining shows, or charity activities, regardless of whether they are organised during or in relation to electoral rallies, or as campaign activities or activities outside of the campaign; “The creation by political parties of commercial and non-commercial juridical persons that exercise activity with the purpose of profit is prohibited.”

Burimet financiare dhe materiale të partive politike përbëhen nga kuotat e anëtarësisë, nga fondet
publike, duke përfshirë edhe ndihmën financiare në masën e caktuar në Buxhetin e Shtetit të miratuar me ligj nga Kuvendi, fondet jopublike, të cilat janë dhurimet financiare, dhurimet në natyrë, shërbimet,
sponsorizimet, kreditë apo garancitë e ndryshme, si edhe çdo transaksion tjetër financiar. 

The financial sources and materials of the political parties consist of
a) membership dues;
b) public funds including the financial assistance in the amount set in the State Budget,
approved by law by the Assembly.
c) non-public funds, which are financial donations, in-kind donations, services, sponsorships,
loans or guarantees, as well as any other financial transaction

Burimet financiare dhe materiale të partive politike përbëhen nga kuotat e anëtarësisë, nga fondet publike, duke përfshirë edhe ndihmën financiare në masën e caktuar në Buxhetin e Shtetit të miratuar me ligj nga Kuvendi, fondet jopublike, të cilat janë dhurimet financiare, dhurimet në natyrë, shërbimet, sponsorizimet, kreditë apo garancitë e ndryshme, si edhe çdo transaksion tjetër financiar. 

The financial sources and materials of the political parties consist of
a) membership dues;
b) public funds including the financial assistance in the amount set in the State Budget,
approved by law by the Assembly.
c) non-public funds, which are financial donations, in-kind donations, services, sponsorships,
loans or guarantees, as well as any other financial transaction

Donation of funds by a legal person or any of its shareholders is prohibited if one of the following conditions apply:
a) has received public funds, public contracts, or concessions in the last 3 years, exceeding ALL 10 million. This prohibition shall also apply to sub-contracting or public-private partnership contracts.

Donation of non-public funds over 50 thousand ALL must be made only in a designated bank account opened by the electoral subject. The accounts shall be declared upon registration under Article 64 of this law. The declaration form shall also include the authorisation for CEC and its assignees to obtain data on all account transactions.

Political parties participating in elections, which obtained not less than 1% of votes at a national level in the last elections of the same type, shall benefit State budget funds based on the number of votes that each party received in those elections. Funds for this purpose shall be defined in an Assembly decision and comprise a separate budget item in the State Budget of the corresponding electoral year. This fund may not be less than the total amounts distributed to political parties in the previous elections.     

Çdo vit në Buxhetin e Shtetit përcaktohet një fond që shërben si ndihmë financiare publike për kryerjen e veprimtarisë vjetore të partive politike. Ndihma financiare e parashikuar në Buxhetin e Shtetit në vitet jozgjedhore, si rregull, nuk mund të jetë më e vogël se ndihma e parashikuar në vitin paraardhës.

Political parties participating in elections, which obtained not less than 1% of votes at a national level in the last elections of the same type, shall benefit State budget funds based on the number of votes that each party received in those elections. Funds for this purpose shall be defined in an Assembly decision and comprise a separate budget item in the State Budget of the corresponding electoral year. This fund may not be less than the total amounts distributed to political parties in the previous elections.

Funds are divided as follows:

a) 70 percent, according to the number of deputies won in the last parliamentary elections. Any party Parliamentary receives financial assistance in accordance with the number of deputies it has won on the basis of the electoral system provided for in the Electoral Code;
b) 20 percent, equally, between the parliamentary parties and the parties that have taken over 10 thousand votes in the last parliamentary elections.
c) 10 percent, according to the percentage won among the political parties that have participated in the elections last parliamentary and won over 1 percent of the vote nationwide.

In addition,  under art. 89 other parties that did not receive funds under art. 88 are entitled to get expenses reimbursed if they receive over 1% of votes in the upcoming elections. 

Ky fond ndahet sipas rregullave të mëposhtme:
a) 70 për qind, sipas numrit të deputetëve të fituar në zgjedhjet e fundit parlamentare. Çdo parti parlamentare përfiton ndihmë financiare në përputhje me numrin e deputetëve që ka fituar në bazë të sistemit zgjedhor të parashikuar në Kodin Zgjedhor;
b) 20 për qind, në mënyrë të barabartë, ndërmjet partive parlamentare dhe partive që kanë marrë mbi 10 mijë vota në zgjedhjet e fundit parlamentare.
c) 10 për qind, sipas përqindjes së fituar ndërmjet partive politike që kanë marrë pjesë në zgjedhjet e fundit parlamentare dhe kanë fituar mbi 1 për qind të votave në shkallë vendi. 

The fund shall be divided according to the following rules:
a) 70 percent shall be divided according to the number of seats obtained in the last parliamentary elections. Each party sitting in parliament shall be entitled to financial aid in accordance with the number of seats obtained based on the proportional system;
b) 20 percent shall be divided equally among parliamentary parties and the parties which have received more than 10 thousand votes in the last parliamentary elections;
c) 10 percent shall be divided according to the percentage obtained among [by] the political parties that took part in the last parliamentary elections and obtained over 1 percent of the votes. The non-allocated remainder of the 10 percent shall be added to the 70 percent fund and it shall be divided among parliamentary parties.

In addition,  under art. 89 other parties that did not receive funds under art. 88 are entitled to get expenses reimbursed if they receive over 1% of votes in the upcoming elections. 

The fund earmarked to be distributed under this Article shall be given to each party no later than 5 days from the registration of the multi-name lists or candidates for mayor of local government units of the relevant party. Political parties that benefit funds from the State Budget and CEC, prior to the distribution of the fund, shall sign an agreement in which the political parties acknowledge to accept the fund, use it in compliance with all conditions and obligations laid down in this law, accept monitoring of expenditures
conducted by the subject and its candidates, as well as respect all relevant prohibitions laid down in this law. By secondary legislation, the CEC shall determine other modalities of the agreement signed between the parties.

Shteti lehtëson veprimtarinë e partive politike. Lehtësimi nga shteti i veprimtarisë së partiven politike përfshin fushat si vijon:
a) Partitë kanë të drejtë të përdorin pa shpërblim mjetet e informimit masiv publik në rast fushatash elektorale dhe referendumesh.

The state facilitates the activity of political parties. The facilitation by the state of the activity of political parties includes the following fields:
a) Parties have the right to use, without compensation, the public mass media in the case of electoral campaigns and referenda ;      During electoral campaign, the public radio and television shall provide registered political parties and the CEC with free airtime for campaigning.

A total of two hours shall be provided to the CEC, according to the time slots it requests. At least two-thirds of this time must be between 1800 and 2200;
b) for parliamentary parties that have received more than 20 percent of the seats in the last elections to the Assembly, the CEC shall allocate airtime equal to no less than 30 minutes on the public television and the same airtime on the public radio; for other parliamentary parties, this airtime shall be no less than 15 minutes. If airtime is increased for one party or one respective coalition, the time allotted to another party or coalition shall be proportionally increased;
c) each non-parliamentary party that participates in elections shall benefit 10 minutes in the public television and 10 minutes in the public radio;
ç) the respective electoral subject must be clearly identified on any political programme or advertisement for purposes of electoral propaganda. If the political programme or advertisement is not clearly identifiable, the CEC shall order the immediate suspension of its broadcast until due identification is made as required in this point.

Private radio and television broadcasters shall provide extra airtime for the advertisements of non-parliamentary parties and candidates proposed by the voters, in addition to the airtime applied in accordance with point 5 of this Article. The airtime for the advertisements of each non-parliamentary party and candidates proposed by voters shall not exceed 10 minutes for the entire electoral campaign.

“the state facilities the activity of political parties”. The same article (b) mentions that this includes obtaining premises (headquarters) for central and local offices. This could be seen as another form of indirect public funding.

Ofrimi ose dhënia e të hollave, të mirave materiale, premtimi për vend pune ose favorizime të tjera në cilëndo formë, për zgjedhësin ose persona të tjerë të lidhur me të, me qëllim marrjen e firmës për paraqitjen e një kandidati në zgjedhje, për të votuar në një mënyrë të caktuar, për të marrë pjesë ose jo në votime, ose për t’u angazhuar në veprimtari të paligjshme për mbështetjen e një kandidati ose partie politike, përbën vepër penale dhe dënohet me burgim nga një vit deri në pesë vjet.

Offering or giving money or material goods, making promises for employment or other favours in any form, in contradiction with the law, for the voter or other persons in order to get signatures to field a candidate in elections, to vote in a certain way, to participate
or not to participate in voting, or to get engaged into an illegal activity to support a candidate or political party, constitutes a criminal offence and is punishable by imprisonment of one year up to five years.

The total expenditures made by an electoral subject, including its candidates, for an electoral campaign must not exceed 3 times the highest amount that an electoral subject has received from public funds for electoral purposes, in accordance with Article 88 of this Law. Any electoral campaign expenditure shall be documented and implemented in compliance with the effective fiscal legislation. For the purpose of this Law, “campaign expenditure” shall mean any expenditure made by a party or its candidates for electoral campaign purposes, regardless of the date it is made.

Obligations provided for in this Article shall also apply to candidates proposed by voters, registered in accordance with Articles 69 and 70 of this law. The total expenditures a candidate proposed by the voters may make must not exceed 50% of the highest amount that an electoral subject has obtained from public funds, in accordance with Article 88 of this law,´.

Third parties are currently not regulated in Albania.

Only electoral subjects registered for elections shall have the right to broadcast political advertisements during the electoral period on private radio, television, or audiovisual media, be they digital, cable, analogue, satellite or any other form or method of signal broadcast. Political advertisements of electoral coalitions shall be calculated within the airtime of the political parties that are members of the coalition, according to an individual agreement between each party and the radio-television broadcaster. Political advertisement must clearly identify the commissioning entity. In the event the political advertisement is not clearly identified, the CEC shall order the immediate suspension of its broadcast until its identification is made as required by this point.

The definition in Art 84 of the Electoral Code refers to advertising via 'signal broadcasts'. As such it does not include social media advertising.

Partitë politike dorëzojnë raportet financiare një herë në vit pranë Komisionit Qendror të Zgjedhjeve, të cilat duhet të përmbajnë informacion të hollësishëm për:
a) burimet e financimit në bazë të formatit të standardizuar, të miratuar nga Komisioni Qendror i Zgjedhjeve;
b) shpenzimet në bazë të formatit të standardizuar, të miratuar nga Komisioni Qendror i Zgjedhjeve;
c) subjektet e lidhura, drejtpërdrejt ose tërthorazi, me partitë politike apo që kontrollohen prej tyre, të cilat deklarohen nga vetë partia politike.
2. Partitë politike dorëzojnë raportin vjetor financiar, së bashku me raportin e auditimit, të kryer nga ekspertë kontabël të licencuar, në përputhje me dispozitat e këtij ligji.

Political parties shall submit financial reports to the Central Election Commission oncem per annum.
2. The annual reports must contain detailed information:
a. on funding sources based on the standardised template approved by the Central Election Commission;
b. on expenses based on the standardised template approved by the Central Election Commission;
c. (information) provided by the political party itself on subjects directly or indirectly linked to or under the control of political parties themselves.
3. Political parties shall submit the annual financial report along with the auditing report drawn up by certified accounting experts in accordance with the provisions of this law.

Electoral subjects shall be obliged to submit an electoral campaign financial report to the CEC within 60 days from the announcement of the election result.
2. Financial reports shall be designed according to templates approved by the CEC. As a rule, the report must contain information on:
a) every donation, borrowing, or loan made to the electoral subjects (including its branches and candidates) during the electoral campaign and six months prior to the campaign and the source thereof, including in-kind donations and services;
b) income for the purpose of electoral campaigning from all other permitted sources;
c) all expenditure items for the purpose of the electoral campaign, as determined in the CEC decision and in point 4 of Article 92/2 of this law;
ç) the balance sheet of assets and liabilities of the political party for the period from the decree of the election date to the election date

Electoral subjects shall be obliged to submit an electoral campaign financial report to the CEC within 60 days from the announcement of the election result.
2. Financial reports shall be designed according to templates approved by the CEC. As a rule, the report must contain information on:
a) every donation, borrowing, or loan made to the electoral subjects (including its branches and candidates) during the electoral campaign and six months prior to the campaign and the source thereof, including in-kind donations and services;
b) income for the purpose of electoral campaigning from all other permitted sources;
c) all expenditure items for the purpose of the electoral campaign, as determined in the CEC decision and in point 4 of Article 92/2 of this law;
ç) the balance sheet of assets and liabilities of the political party for the period from the decree of the election date to the election date

Third parties are currently not regulated in Albania

The CEC shall publish the audit reports for electoral subjects no later than 30 days from the date the report is submitted, or depending on the case, from the date the respective verifications are completed. 

Burimet financiare të partive, si dhe shpenzimet e tyre bëhen kurdoherë publike. 

Financial sources of political parties and their expenditures shall be made public.

No later than 5 days after the announcement of the final election result, for every political party registered as electoral subject, or for candidates proposed by the voters, the CEC shall appoint by lot one or more certified accounting experts, selected in accordance with Article 92/7 of this law, to perform an audit of the funds received and spent for the electoral campaign. The audit report shall be submitted to the CEC by the deadline provided for in the appointment decision. The report may not include personal data of donors under the value provided for in points 2 and 3 of Article 92/2 of this law.

The CEC shall have the right to directly verify electoral campaign income and expenditures of any political party registered as an electoral subject, or candidates proposed by voters, the audit report in accordance with point 1 of this Article, as well as any other information relevant to the subject matter that it becomes aware of. For the purpose of this Article, CEC shall have the right to request data, documents, or information from electoral subjects or third parties, who must respond to the CEC request within 15 days from its receipt. Failure to cooperate or refusal to cooperate, destruction of documents, delays or inappropriate behaviour during the verification process conducted by the CEC, shall be reported to the prosecutor’s office as a criminal offense, in accordance with Article 248 of the Criminal Code, and shall be administratively sanctioned by the CEC in compliance with Article 173 of this law