Political Finance Database

According to Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Political Parties, "Financing of political parties by the following persons, including the obtainment of donations there from, shall be prohibited:  […] foreign states and foreign legal entities; foreigners, and persons without citizenship; […]"

 Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan also prohibits financing of foreign sources in election campaigns as follows:

The following shall be prohibited from rendering voluntary donations and assistance in kind or services to election funds of candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups:  […]
Foreign countries and foreign legal entities;
Foreign citizens;  Stateless persons; [...]  Legal entities of the Republic of Azerbaijan, of which more than 30% of the charter (property) capital belongs to persons mentioned in Articles 90.2.1, 90.2.2 and 90.2.3 of this Code on the day of the official publication of the decision to hold elections;  International organizations and international social movements; […]
 

Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan also prohibits financing of foreign sources in election campaigns as follows:

The following shall be prohibited from rendering voluntary donations and assistance in kind or services to election funds of candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups:  […]
Foreign countries and foreign legal entities; Foreign citizens;  Stateless persons; [...]  Legal entities of the Republic of Azerbaijan, of which more than 30% of the charter (property) capital belongs to persons mentioned in Articles 90.2.1, 90.2.2 and 90.2.3 of this Code on the day of the official publication of the decision to hold elections;  International organizations and international social movements; […]
 

Law on Political Parties porhibits obtaining donations by  the following persons: […]
Public associations and foundations, religious entities; Legal entities.

Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan also prohibits receiving donations from the following sources:  […] State bodies and municipalities; State and municipal organizationa and offices; Legal entities, of which more than 30% of the charter (property) capital belongs to the state or municipality on the day of official publication of the decision to hold elections; […]; Charitable organizations, religious associations, institutions and organizations;  […]

Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan also prohibits receiving donations from the following sources:  […] State bodies and municipalities; State and municipal organizations and offices; Legal entities, of which more than 30% of the charter (property) capital belongs to the state or municipality on the day of official publication of the decision to hold elections; […] Charitable organizations, religious associations, institutions; and organizations;  […]

There is no explicit ban on donations from Trade Unions in the relevant legislation.

There is no explicit ban on donations from Trade Unions to candidates in relevant legislation.

Political parties are prohibited from financing, including donations from: [...] 

individuals who failed to indicate their surnames, first names, patronymic, natural persons who do not indicate the series and number of ID card or substituting documents;
Election Code also prohibits candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups: [...] obtaining voluntary donations and assistance in kind or services to their election funds from [...]
Anonymous donors who do not provide any information or misinform on one of the following items:
For a citizen:
• Forename, surname, patronymic;
• Batch and serial number and date of issue, of identification document or substitute document;
• Address;
• Date of birth.
For a legal entity:
• Identification number of taxpayer;
• Name;
• Date of registration;
• Bank account;
• Amount of shares owned by state or municipalities in their charter capital and amount of foreign shares in their charter.

Anonymous donations shall be transferred to the state budget by the candidate, registered candidate, political party, bloc of political parties, or referendum campaign group within 10 days of receipt of such donations.  Art. 93.7, Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2003 (amended 2018).  http://www.msk.gov.az/uploads/qanunvericilik/Election-code_2020.pdf

Election Code  prohibits candidates, registered candidates  [...] obtaining voluntary donations and assistance in kind or services to their election funds from [...]        Anonymous donors who do not provide any information or misinform on one of the following items:
For a citizen:

• Forename, surname, patronymic;
• Batch and serial number and date of issue, of identification document or substitute document;
• Address;
• Date of birth.
For a legal entity:
• Identification number of taxpayer;
• Name;
• Date of registration;
• Bank account;
• Amount of shares owned by state or municipalities in their charter capital and amount of foreign shares in their charter.

Anonymous donations shall be transferred to the state budget by the candidate, registered candidate, political party, bloc of political parties, or referendum campaign group within 10 days of receipt of such donations.  Art. 93.7, Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2003 (amended 2018).  http://www.msk.gov.az/uploads/qanunvericilik/Election-code_2020.pdf

There is no explicit ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to political parties in the relevant legislation.

There is no explicit ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to candidates in the relevant legislation.

The following shall be prohibited from rendering voluntary donations and assistance in kind or services to election funds of candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups: [...]  Legal entities of the Republic of Azerbaijan, of which more than 30% of the charter (property) capital belongs to persons mentioned in Articles 90.2.1, 90.2.2 and 90.2.3 of this Code on the day of official publication of the decision to hold elections;[...]

The following shall be prohibited from rendering voluntary donations and assistance in kind or services to election funds of candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups: [...]  Legal entities of the Republic of Azerbaijan, of which more than 30% of the charter (property) capital belongs to persons mentioned in Articles 90.2.1, 90.2.2 and 90.2.3 of this Code on the day of official publication of the decision to hold elections;[...]

The persons participating in elections (referendums) shall follow the terms given below: [...] 

to not use administrative, municipal or other public resources outside the circumstances prescribed in this Code; [...]

74.4. Conduct of pre-election campaigning and distribution of campaign materials shall be prohibited for: [...]
74.4.2. Officials who while performing or abusing their status as employees of government bodies, agencies or organizations or persons who hold high posts at
the municipal agencies or organizations, civil and municipal servants, and military personnel;
74.4.3. Election commissions, the members of an election commission with decisive voting rights, and other election commission officials; [...]
Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2003 (amended 2018). http://www.msk.gov.az/uploads/qanunvericilik/Election-code_2020.pdf 

308.1. Abuse of office, i.e., deliberate, in defiance of interests of the service, use or non-use where it is necessary for the service interests, by an official of his authorities to acquire in connection with the performance of his duties improper advantage for himself or third parties, if this entailed significant damage to the rights and legitimate interests of natural or legal persons or legally protected interests of society or the state shall be punishable ...  

Source: Article 308.1. , Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 1999 (amended 2017).   https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/8304/file/Azerbaijan_CC_am2018_en.pdf

The maximum amount of donations a person can make to one or more parties during the year cannot exceed ten thousand manats.

100 Azerbaijan Manat = 52,18 Euros as of February 2022.

Election funds of political parties and blocs of political parties may be formed only from the following financial resources: [...] Voluntary donations by citizens and legal entities in respective amounts of no more than 3,000 and 50,000 manats during elections to the Milli Majlis.                                                                                       Election funds of political parties or blocs of political
parties with candidates nominated for municipality: [...] Voluntary donations from citizens not exceeding 500 manats and voluntary donations of legal entities, 750 up to 10,000 manats during municipality elections. 

Election funds of political parties or blocs of political parties, which may be created from the following financial resources:  [...] voluntary donations of citizens and legal entities, not exceeding, respectively, 750 or 25,000 manats during municipality.                                                                         

Election funds of candidates and registered candidates nominated for a single-mandate constituency may be organized from the following financial resources:

...] voluntary donations by citizens or legal entities in respective amounts of no more than 3,000 and 50,000 manats;
 Election funds of presidential candidates shall be formed only from the following financial sources:

[...] voluntary donations of citizens and legal entities which may not exceed 3,000 and 50,000 manats respectively. [...]

Election funds of candidates for municipality membership may be formed from the following financial resources:

[...] Voluntary donations from citizens not exceeding 500 manats and voluntary donations of legal entities, 750 up to 10,000 manats during municipality elections.

The maximum limit of  candidates' and registered candidates' election fund assets should not exceed 500 thousand manats (during Elections to the Milli Majlis) 

The maximum limit of the election fund of a presidential candidate may not be more than 10 million manats. (for presidential candidates)

Special funds - these special funds for presidential candidates nominated by political parties or blocs of political parties shall be formed from the funds contributed by political parties or blocs of political parties of presidential candidates, under the condition they not be more than 250 thousand manats;  [...]

Maximum limit of the funds of candidates for municipality membership,  in pursuant to the minimum number signatures for a territory with certain population determined by Art. 215. of the Election Code vary between 5,000 and 50,000 manats

Law on Political Parties does not specify and limit on in-kind donation, however, it is stated that "the value of the donations submitted in kind shall be defined in accordance with market value". 

The law neither set any limit on in-kind donations nor does it specify how is the value of in-kind donation defined. The limit for individual contribution to a candidate may apply (see Q19).

A political party is a non-commercial legal entity [...]

[...] parties may not be engaged in business or commercial activity.

There is no specific restriction regarding political parties taking loans in relation to election campaigns. However, Law on Political Parties defines funds earned from debts and loans as a source of income. In other words, political parties can take loans during or out of election campaigns. 

"The followings shall be regarded as income of a political party:  [...]
funds earned from debts and loans;[...]"

The Election Code legally lists the sources of candidates' funds in which taking loan is not included. 

The sources of income are determined by Election Code as follows:

1D35. Special election fund and voluntary donations during the Milli Majlis and Presidential elections;

2. During municipality elections special election fund, voluntary donations, and the funds allocated by municipalities in equal amounts to election funds of candidates nominated within their territory.   

There is no specific provision on such restriction in the relevant legislation.

The relevant bank should open a special election account for a candidate, political party, bloc of political parties, or referendum campaign group within 3 days of the submission of documents established in accordance with the rule defined by this Code. All funds shall be transferred in manats to the special election account.

Voluntary donations to the election fund of a candidate, registered candidate, political party, bloc of political parties, or referendum campaign group shall be transferred through post offices, banks and credit organizations.

Voluntary donations of physical and legal entities shall be transferred to the specific election account through post offices and banks no later than next banking day after receipt of the relevant payment document.

Donated funds shall be received in the form of transfer to the bank account of political party.

Activities of political parties shall be financed through the allocation of funds from the state budget. Every year, funds from the state budget are allocated to finance the activities of political parties. 

Political parties which are registered by the relevant body of executive authority in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “on state registration and state registry of legal entities, and participate in the elections are eligible to get state funding.

The criteria for allocation of the state funding of political parties are as follows:

10 percent of the funds allocated from the state budget shall be divided proportionally to the number of earned votes, among the political parties that nominated candidates who earned at least 3 percent of the valid votes in the last elections of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, but which are not represented in the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 40 percent of the funds shall be equally divided among the political parties represented in the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and 50 percent shall be divided proportionally to the number of elected Members of the Parliament.

If political parties have participated in the last elections of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan within a coalition of political parties, the funds allocated from the state budget shall be provided to each party separately as provided in Article 17-1.2 of this Law.

In accordance with Articles 77 through 86 of the Election Code, the State shall define conditions for equal use of media outlets by registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups for pre-election (pre-referendum) campaigning.

Public Television and radio companies or periodicals that are founded by state bodies and organizations, or funded by the state budget, shall create equal conditions for registered candidates, political parties and blocs of political parties to conduct their election campaign, […] 

Presidential candidates; political parties or blocs of political parties with candidates registered in more than 60 single-mandate election constituencies, or in more than half of all municipalities; and Referendum campaign groups with 40,000 or more members, shall have the right to free airtime of TV and radio companies for election campaigning                                                                                          
[…] candidates registered in a single-mandate constituency, Referendum campaign groups with 20,000 or more members; and Political parties or blocs of political parties with candidates registered in more than 1/3 of all municipalities, shall have the right to free TV and radio airtime companies for pre-election campaigning.   

TV and radio companies that are founded by municipal institutions shall have to create equal conditions for the registered candidate, political parties or blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups who are campaigning in the territory of the relevant municipality.

In principle (see Question 34), registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups are granted  "equal use" and "equal condition" in media, however, there are some conditions regarding the type of election, number of membership of political parties, size of the constituency, broadcast area of media outlets etc. 

The free airtime provided by broadcasting companies shall be divided on equal terms and amounts among the registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties and referendum campaign groups.  A lottery shall be held to divide the free airtime allocated at the begining of the campaign period, on the basis of applications submitted by registered candidates, political parties, and blocs of political parties. The free airtime provided by broadcasting companies shall be divided on equal terms and amounts among the registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties and referendum campaign groups. Expenses of TV and Radio companies from allocating free airtime to candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups, shall be reimbursed from the state budget.
 

Private TV and radio companies and periodicals may refuse to publish pre-election campaign material. Private TV and radio companies and periodicals may not be forced to publish pre-election campaign materials. If such materials are published, then the conditions for publishing should be equal for all candidates, political parties, and referendum campaign groups.

Art. 78.4. Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2003 (amended 2018). https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/4134/file/Azerbaijan_law_Political_Parties_1992_am2012_en.pdf 

The Election Code provides for free and paid airtime for candidates, under equal conditions. Political parties and blocs with candidates in at least 60 constituencies are eligible for three hours per week of free airtime on the public broadcaster and free space in state-funded newspapers. This time will be equally divided among registered candidates and will be used either for debates among them or for their individual presentations.

The following shall have the right to free airtime of TV and radio companies for election campaigning, in accordance with Article 77.2 of this Code:
Presidential candidates; [...]

in accordance with Article 77.3 of this Code:

Candidates registered in single-mandate constituencies; [...]

Candidates for membership of a municipality and referendum campaign groups with 2,000 or more members, shall have the right to free airtime for election campaigning from TV and radio companies, in accordance with Article 77.4 of this Code. [...]

The free airtime provided by broadcasting companies shall be divided on equal terms and amounts among the registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties and referendum campaign groups.

Firstly, political parties benefit from tax benefits as they are non-commercial organisations: […]"grants, membership fees and donations received by non-commercial organizations;" […]  However, expenses that are not connected with economic activity shall not be deducted.

Source: COE/GRECO (2010) Third Evaluation Round Evaluation Report on Azerbaijan Transparency of Party Funding (Theme II) 27 September - 1 October 2010, GRECO Secretariat, Strasbourg.

The substance level compensation for unpaid vacation for public employees or who are registered candidates, and their travel expenses during the campaign period shall be paid from the funds of election commissions.

Periodicals’ expenses for allocation of free print-space for registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties and referendum campaign groups, shall be reimbursed from the state budget. 

Suitable state buildings shall be provided free of charge for campaign meetings. Election commissions shall create equal conditions for the registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups to conduct pre-election campaigning using mass actions.

Besides the national broadcast and state-funded newspapers, presidential candidates, political parties or blocs of political parties with registered candidates, and candidates for municipal elections are provided pre-election campaigning through periodicals on a free basis in pursuant to certain criteria.

In accordance with Article 70.2, a presidential candidate shall have the right to use all kinds of public transport (except taxis and arranged journeys) at the expense of the state within the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan effective from the date he/she has been registered and until the date of official publishing of election results.

Candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, referendum campaign groups, their agents, and other persons and organizations who participate directly in a pre-election campaign shall be prohibited from: 
giving money, gifts, and other valuable items (excepting badges, stickers, posters and campaign materials with other nominal value) to voters, except for purposes of performing administrative duties; rewarding voters who perform administrative duties, or promising voters a reward, on the basis of election results; selling goods at a discount or providing goods (except for printed materials) free of charge; providing free or discounted services; influencing voters during the pre-election campaign by promising them securities, money and other goods and services based on grounds that contradict legislation.

Candidates, political parties or blocs of political parties which have nominated a candidate and their authorized representatives, founders, owners, and proprietors, and legal entities who are persons or organizations mentioned above shall be prohibited from rendering financial and material assistance to other physical and legal entities, and from offering to render financial and material assistance or services to voters or organizations. Individuals and legal entities are prohibited from undertaking charitable activities on behalf of and with the purpose of supporting: political parties or blocs of political parties, the authorized representatives of these parties or blocs, and candidates.

The Law on Political Parties does not impose any quantitative or qualitative restrictions or limits on expenses for routine activities of political parties.  However,         […]  funds of candidates or political parties, which have nominated a registered candidate or political parties in a bloc of political parties -- the value of the funds may not be more than 150 thousand manats;

[…] Election funds of political parties and blocs of political parties may be formed only from the following financial resources:  special funds of political parties and blocs of political parties not exceeding 500 thousand manats (such funds of blocs of political parties are formed from the funds of political parties which are included in that bloc);

…] The maximum limit of the election fund assets of a political party or bloc of political parties shall be determined by multiplying this amount.

There is no specified spending for candidates. However, there is a limit on the amount of the election fund of candidates,which can be considered a spending limit, but not necessarily. The limit of the election fund depends on the type of elections namely parliamentary, municipal and presidential elections.

The maximum limit of a candidate’s election fund assets should not exceed 500 thousand manats.

The maximum limit of the election fund of a presidential candidate may not be more than 10 million manats.

The maximum limit of the funds of candidates for municipality membership vary between 5.000 up to 50.000 manats. 

There is no specific expenditure limit for candidates at presidential and municipal elections.

There is no specific expenditure limit for candidates at presidential and municipal elections, 

There is no specific regulation on online media advertisements. However, some general restrictions/prohibitions on online media exists.

https://freedomhouse.org/country/azerbaijan/freedom-net/2021

Annual financial reports by political parties, together with an auditorʹs opinion, ares ubmitted to the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan no later than April1 of each year.

In accordance with Election Code Article 94, parties, [...]  are obliged to register the collection and expenditure of their election/ referendum funds.

- an initial financial report is to be submitted together with the required documents for registration with the election commission,providing financial information for the period of two days prior to the date of the report;
- a second financial report is to be submitted between 10 to 20 days prior to the day of elections, providing financial information for the period of seven days prior to the date of the report;
- a final financial report is to be submitted at the latest 10 days after the official publication of the final results of elections (referenda); the initial financial documents on the collection and expenditure of election/referendum funds must be attached to the final financial report.

In accordance with Election Code Article 94,[...], candidates and [...] are obliged to register the collection and expenditure of their election/referendum funds.

- an initial financial report is to be submitted together with the required documents for registration with the election commission,56 providing financial information for the period of two days prior to the date of the report;
- a second financial report is to be submitted between 10 to 20 days prior to the day of elections, providing financial information for the period of seven days prior to the date of the report;
- a final financial report is to be submitted at the latest 10 days after the official publication of the final results of elections (referenda); the initial financial documents on the collection and expenditure of election/referendum funds must be attached to the final financial report.

Candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties and referendum campaign groups shall submit their financial report to the relevant election commission in the following order:

94.2 Candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups are obliged to register the collection and expenditure of their election funds.

94.3 Candidates, registered candidates, political parties, blocs of political parties shall submit their financial report to the relevant election commission in the following order; 
94.3.1. the initial financial report shall be submitted to the relevant election commission along with the required documents for registration, in accordance with the rule defined by this Code. This report shall contain information for the period of two days prior to the date indicated in the report;
94.3.2. a second financial report shall be submitted to the relevant election commission between 10 to 20 days prior to Election Day. This report shall contain information for the period of seven days prior to the date indicated therein;
94.3.3. the final financial report shall be submitted at the latest 10 days after the final results of the elections (referendum) is officially published. The initial financial documents on the collection and expenditure of election funds shall be attached to the final financial report.
94.4. If a candidate or registered candidate loses his/her status, he/she shall have the duty to report on their finances. The duties for financial reporting of political parties, blocs of political parties, and referendum campaign groups shall be carried out by their authorized representatives for financial issues. If there is no such authorized representative, financial reporting may be carried out by other persons who are included in the staff of, participated in the election campaign of, and are authorized to represent the political parties or blocs of political parties, or referendum campaign group.

Source: Article 94.3, Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2003 (amended 2018).

Annual financial statements of political parties are published in mass media along with auditor’s opinion and posted on the official website of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 

The financial reports of registered candidates, of political parties and blocs of political parties which have a registered candidate, and of referendum campaign groups shall be disseminated to the media by the constituency election commissions and the Central Election Commission.

Additionally, candidates at parliamentary, presidential, and municipal elections (including Political Parties, Blocs of Political Parties) are obliged to publish the financial information on election funds.

"The amount of donations received by political parties and information required by the relevant body of executive authority, about the persons granting donations, shall be included in the financial statement."

"Voluntary donations to the election fund of a candidate, registered candidate, political party, bloc of political parties, or referendum campaign group shall be transferred through post offices, banks and credit organizations... and they should contain the following information on the citizen:
Surname, forename, patronymic; Date of birth; Address; and..."

"Voluntary donations of legal entities received by bank transfer to the election fund of a candidate, political party, bloc of political parties or referendum campaign group shall have the following information recorded:

Whether legal entities have state, municipal or foreign shares in their charter capital; Name of the legal entity; Date of registration and tax ID; and Bank account information."

"The relevant executive authorities shall submit ...; the name of the legal entity; and the date of registration of the legal entity to the relevant election commissions within five days after the list of legal entities which have made donations to candidates, political parties and blocs of political parties is received from the relevant election commissions... but the dissemination of such information shall not be allowed."

The financial reports should be submitted in a standardized format provided by the Central Election Commission. The form provides the following categories to be detailed for income:

1) Special funding of candidate 

2) Voluntary donations of individuals

3) Voluntary donations of legal entities

4) Funds of political parties, blocs of political parties nominating a candidate

The financial reports should be submitted in a standardized format provided by the Central Election Commission. The form provides the following categories to be detailed for income:

1) Financial supply of the organizational and technical activities in the field of collecting voters’ signatures, as well as paying of the relevant persons to collect voters’ signatures

2) Reimbursement of the pre-election campaign activities, also information and consultation services

3) Expenses concerning the payment for other works directly undertaken by legal entities and citizen

As regards the general financing of political parties, Art. 18.4, of Law on Political Parties states that "the tax authorities are to supervise the sources of income of political parties, the amount of the gained resources and payment of the taxes as provided for in the tax legislation", only in so far as their activities are covered by the Tax Code, e.g. regarding the collection of taxes such as property taxes and taxes on salaries. However, the financial accounts of political parties referred to in Art. 21 of the Law are not submitted to the Ministry of Taxes or any other State body.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) ensures supervision of spending of monetary means entered into election funds of candidates (political parties); 

The Central Election Commission (CEC) and to the constituency election commissions supervise the election and referendum campaign financing.                               

"Candidates, registered candidates, political parties or blocs of political parties shall submit their financial report to the relevant election commission[…]"            

A supervisory and audit service shall be established in the Central Election Commission and Constituency Election Commissions to ensure the control of expenditure of funding allocated to election commissions for election purposes, correct registration, and correct use of election funds and sources of funding.

The election commissions within their responsibilities and under the coordination of the CEC form supervisory and audit services to ensure the control of expenditure of funding allocated to election commissions for election/referendum purposes, correct registration and use of election/referendum funds and sources of funding.

If an election commission detects elements of criminal acts relating to campaign financing, it has to submit the relevant documents to the prosecution office. Investigations can be triggered either by facts detected during the supervision by the election commissions or by complaints from citizens. If elements of administrative violations are detected, the election commission concerned has to file a complaint directly to the courts for the imposition of administrative
sanctions.

Supervisory and Audit Services of Election Commissions audit financial reports of candidates, registered candidates, political parties and blocs of political parties, referendum campaign groups; obtain information on all issues within its powers from them; obtain necessary information on issues concerning this service and the financial provision of elections from other authorities; identify violations; inform the relevant election commission on implementation of accountability measures for the violations.

113.2. Registration of a candidate, referendum campaign group shall be cancelled in the cases mentioned below in an order established by the legislation if there is a court verdict in force on the criminal case or there is a court decision in force on the administrative offence: [...]
113.2.2. if a candidate or referendum campaign group is found election campaigning before being registered or before the period indicated in Article 75 of this Code (this provision may not serve as a ground for restricting the freedom of expression and thought, provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan);
113.2.3. if a candidate, political party, bloc of political parties, referendum campaign group, or the authorized representatives/agents thereof are found influencing voters through actions prohibited by Article 88.4. of this Code;
113.2.4. if legal entities, state and municipal bodies, structures and organizations participate in the collection of signatures, regardless of their type of property; if it is discovered that voters are being forced to sign or being rewarded for signing;
113.2.5. if a candidate nominated for a relevant constituency uses other funds for financing his/her election campaign which exceed more than 5% of the maximum expenses from election fund defined by this Code;
113.2.6. if a political party, bloc of political parties, or referendum campaign group uses other funds for financing their election (referendum) campaign which exceed more than 5% of the maximum of expenses from election funds defined by this Code; [...]
113.2.8. if a candidate, political party, bloc of political parties, or referendum campaign groups do not submit their initial financial report; [...]
113.2.10. if a candidate, political party, bloc of political parties, or their agents produce and distribute pre-election publications and audiovisual election materials, violating provisions of Articles 88.2 and 88.4 of this Code; [...]
113.2.12. if a registered candidate who is in government or municipal service does not stop cease operating in such a capacity while participating in elections; or
113.2.13. if a registered candidate, political party or bloc of political parties with registered candidates use illegal donations transferred to their funds.

115.1. The following persons may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative liabilities in conformity with the Criminal Code, Civil Code, or the Code on Administrative Offences of the Republic of Azerbaijan: [...]
115.1.8. those who have violated rules for election campaigning, including those who have conducted election campaign a day prior to or on Voting Day;
115.1.9. those who have produced and distributed commercials or other advertisements which violate the regulations stipulated in this Code, or who have rendered charitable assistance;
115.1.10. those who have violated rules for financing election campaigns, as defined by this Code; [...]

Article 22, Law on Political Parties. Responsibility for violation of the law 

Persons who violate the requirements of this Law are liable in accordance with law.