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Political Finance Database

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Cyprus

2016

2018

Bans and limits on private income

Public funding

Regulations of spending

Reporting, oversight and sanctions

Question	Value
1. Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to political parties?	Code Yes Comment Donation form other countries are forbidden, as well as donations coming from people without Cyprus citizenship.
2. Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to candidates?	Code No
3. Is there a ban on corporate donations to political parties?	Code No Comment private corporate donations are not generally banned, but specific limits apply (e.g., contributions are not allowed from companies constituted under the Companies Act). In specific cases, (art. 5.2) corporate donations cannot exceed 5,000 ? per year.
4. Is there a ban on corporate donations to candidates?	Code No
5. Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to political parties?	Code No
6. Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to candidates?	Code No
7. Is there a ban on anonymous donations to political parties?	Code Yes Comment Donors must always register their identity in order to contribute ti political parties' finance.
8. Is there a ban on anonymous donations to candidates?	Code No
9. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to political parties?	Code Yes Comment parties cannot receive donations from companies in which the state has a stake, or that hold contracts with public administrations. Source Art.5.1 ' In addition to state funding, a political party may accept private contributions, either financial or otherwise, [...] provided that they: (D) do not come from public bodies, excluding the Youth Board in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of section 6B ? (E) do not come from state enterprise.' (Source: Political Party Law, as amended December 2015)
10. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to candidates?	Code No Source P 7f, 'Private funding to political parties and election campaigns was not specifically regulated in Cyprus at the time of the visit by the GET... nor were there any limits as to from where or whom a donation may come (physical persons, legal persons or from abroad etc) and there were no limits in respect of the size of contributions.' (Source: GRECO (2011) Evaluation Report on Cyprus on Transparency of Party Funding (Theme II))
11. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with partial government ownership to political parties?	Code Yes Comment parties cannot receive donations from companies in which the state has a stake, or that hold contracts with public administrations. Source Art.5.1 ' In addition to state funding, a political party may accept private contributions, either financial or otherwise, [...] provided that they: (D) do not come from public bodies, excluding the Youth Board in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of section 6B ? (E) do not come from state enterprise.' (Source: Political Party Law, as amended December 2015)
12. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with partial government ownership to candidates?	Code No Source P 7f, 'Private funding to political parties and election campaigns was not specifically regulated in Cyprus at the time of the visit by the GET... nor were there any limits as to from where or whom a donation may come (physical persons, legal persons or from abroad etc) and there were no limits in respect of the size of contributions.' (Source: GRECO (2011) Evaluation Report on Cyprus on Transparency of Party Funding (Theme II))
13. Is there a ban on the use of state resources in favour or against a political party or candidate?	Code No data
14. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during a non-election specific period?	Code Yes, for both natural and legal persons Source p.7 'Donations, either from physical persons or legal entities,are limited to EUR 50,000 per political party annually'. (Source: OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission Report, March 2016)
15. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during a non-election specific period, what is the limit?	Code Annual limit is EUR 50.000 for both natural persons and legal entities Comment lower limits apply for specific groups of donors. (see Q. 3)
16. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during an election?	Code No Comment There are not specific election-related limits. Regular limits on individual contributions apply. Source art.5.1.- 'In addition to state funding, a political party may accept private contributions,either financial or otherwise, from natural or legal persons, provided that they:(A) not exceed the amount of fifty thousand euro (? 50,000) per year by the same natural or legal person. ' (Source: Political Party Law, as amended December 2015)
17. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during an election, what is the limit?	Code Not applicable Comment NA
18. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate?	Code No
19. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate, what is the limit?	Code Not applicable Comment NA
20. Is there a limit on the amount a candidate can contribute to their own election campaign?
21. Is there a limit on in-kind donations to political parties?
22. Is there a limit on in-kind donations to candidates?
23. Is there a ban on political parties engaging in commercial activities?
24. Is there a ban on political parties taking loans in relation to election campaigns?
25. Is there a ban on candidates taking loans in relation to election campaigns?
26. Is there a ban on donors to political parties/candidates participating in public tender/procurement processes?
27. Are there provisions requiring donations to go through the banking system?

Question	Value
28. Are there provisions for direct public funding to political parties?	Code Yes, both regularly and in relation to campaigns Comment State fund are given both for electoral campaigning and parties' ordinary activities
29. What are the eligibility criteria for political parties to receive public funding?	Code Representation in elected body Share of votes in previous election Registration as a political party Comment Funding is only available to political parties that are registered in the Register of Political Parties. Parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties receive funding for election expenses. Non parliamentary party should receive at least the 3 per cent of votes to be eligible for reimbursement.
30. What is the allocation calculation for political parties to receive public funding?	Code Equal Proportional to votes received Proportional to seats received Comment For parliamentary parties: 1) The 15% of the total amount is distributed equally. The rest is distributed in proportion to the votes received during the last parliamentary elections. Non parliamentary parties should have pass the 3% threshold of votes received in the previous election, and then the same criteria applies for the allocation calculations.
31. What are the provisions on 'ear marking' direct public funding to political parties (how it should be used)?	Code No
32. Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for political parties?	Code Yes Comment Parties are entitled to free air time at Cyprus Broadcasting (CYBC) during campaign periods.
33. What criteria determine allocation for free or subsidized access to media for political parties?	Code Equal Comment Each party is given maximum 100 minutes in total on all television stations and 60 minutes on all radio stations.
34. Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for candidates?	Code Yes Comment Candidates in Presidential elections.
35. Are there provisions for any other form of indirect public funding?	Code Yes Comment Neither Public funding nor private contributions received by each party are subject to taxation. Moreover, the amount of the donation is deductible from the taxable income for private donors.
36. Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties tied to gender equality among candidates?	Code No Comment No reference to ear-marked funding in relation to gender equality can be found.
37. Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties?	Code No

Question	Value
38. Is there a ban on vote buying?	Code No data
39. Are there limits on the amount a political party can spend?	Code No
40. If there are limits on the amount a political party can spend, what is the limit?	Code Not applicable Comment NA
41. Are there limits on the amount a candidate can spend?	Code Yes
42. If there are limits on the amount a candidate can spend, what is the limit?	Code EUR 30,000 [I$ 41,000] for candidates to Parliament, and EUR 50,000 [I$ 68,000] for candidates to the European Parliament. Comment EUR 5,000 of the EUR 30,000 parliamentary candidates may spend regard candidates' own spending, and the remaining EUR 25,000 regard candidates' additional spending that must be paid for via the electoral representative.
43. Are there limits on the amount that third parties can spend on election campaign activities?
44. Are there limits on traditional media advertising spending in relation to election campaigns?
45. Are there limits on online media advertising spending in relation to election campaigns?
46. Do any other restrictions on online media advertisement (beyond limits) exist?

Question	Value
47. Do political parties have to report regularly on their finances?	Code Yes Comment Political Parties must report on their finance annually.
48. Do political parties have to report on their election campaign finances?	Code Yes Comment Political parties have to report income and expenses for election campaigns
49. Do candidates have to report on their election campaign finances?	Code Yes
50. Do third parties have to report on election campaign finances?
51. Is information in reports from political parties and/or candidates to be made public?	Code Yes Comment Political parties' financial statements are published on the Official Journal, and must be published on parties' websites too.
52. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates reveal the identity of donors?	Code Sometimes Comment Identity of donors must be revealed for each donations over 500 ?
53. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates include information on itemized income?
54. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates include information on itemized spending?
55. Which institution(s) receives financial reports from political parties and/or candidates?	Code Ministry Auditing agency Comment Parties submit reports to the Auditor General of the Republic. The representatives of candidates submit reports to the Election Commissioner (who also is Director General of the Ministry of Interior).
56. Which institution(s) is responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations?	Code Auditing agency Comment the General Auditor of the Republic has exclusive competence to audit political parties and s/he cannot delegate this authority.
57. What power is granted to the institution(s) responsible for examining reports and/or investigating violations?
58. What sanctions are provided for political finance infractions?	Code Fines Prison Loss of public funding Comment Violations are fined with up to ?20,000 for political parties, and repeated offences may imply?a withdrawal of public funding to the party. Private monetary contributions to parties exceeding the prescribed maximum amount may give a fine up to three times the difference between the maximum amount allowed for donations and the real amount received by the party.Candidates who exceed their expenditure limits or fail to comply with provisions concerning financial statements may be fined with up to EUR 342 [I$ 470] or imprisonment up to?six months.

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