42. If there are limits on the amount a candidate can spend, what is the limit?

Poland

Poland

Answer
PLN 32 million (EUR 7.5 million) for parliamentary elections in 2019. PLN 19 million (EUR 4.4 million) for presidential election in 2020. PLN 19 million (EUR 4.4 million) for European Parliament elections in 2019.
Source

§ 1. In elections to the Sejm, election committees may only spend amounts limited by quotas for election agitation, set as follows:
1) the limit is set at PLN 0.82 per each voter in the country included in the register of voters;
2) the expenditure limit for a given committee is calculated according to the formula:
L = (w × k × m) / 460,
where individual symbols mean:
L - spending limit,
w - the number of voters in the country included in the voter registers,
k - the amount for each voter in the country included in the register of voters referred to in item 1,
m - the total number of deputies elected in all constituencies in which the committee registered the lists of candidates.
Source: Article 199 § 1, Election Code, 2011 (amended 2019)

§ 1. The minister competent for public finance, by regulation, shall increase the amount referred to in art. 199 § 1 item 1, in the case of an increase in the total consumer price index of over 5%, to the extent corresponding to an increase in these prices.
Source: Article 200 § 1, Election Code, 2011 (amended 2019)

§ 1. In elections to the Senate, election committees may only spend amounts limited by quotas for election agitation, set as follows:
1) the limit is determined by the amount of PLN 0.18 for each voter in the country included in the register of voters;

2) the expenditure limit for a given committee is calculated according to the formula:
L = (w × k × s) / 100,
where individual symbols mean:
L - spending limit,
w - the number of voters in the country included in the voter registers,
k - the amount for each voter in the country included in the register of voters referred to in item 1,
s - the number of constituencies in which the committee registered candidates for senators.
§ 2. The provisions of art. 199 § 2 and art. 200 shall apply accordingly.
Source: Article 259, Election Code, 2011 (amended 2019)

§ 1. Election committees may only spend on the election campaign limited amounts, the amount of which is determined by the amount of PLN 0.60 per each voter in the country included in the register of voters.
§ 3. The minister competent for public finance, by regulation, shall increase the amount referred to in § 1 in the event of an increase in the total consumer price index by over 5%, to the extent corresponding to the increase in these prices.
Source: Article 327, § 1, § 3, Election Code, 2011 (amended 2019)

§ 1. In elections to the European Parliament, election committees may only spend on electoral agitation amounts limited by limits set as follows:
1) the amount of the limit is set at PLN 0.60 per each voter in the country included in the register of voters;
2) the expenditure limit for a given committee is calculated according to the formula:
L = w × k,
where individual symbols mean:
L - spending limit,
w - the number of voters in the country included in the registers of voters in the constituencies in which the committee registered the lists of candidates,
k - the amount for each voter in the country included in the register of voters referred to in item 1.
§ 3. The minister competent for public finances, by way of a regulation, will increase the amount referred to in § 1 item 1 in the case of an increase in the total consumer price index by more than 5%, to the extent corresponding to the increase in these prices.
Source: Article 337 § 1, § 3, Election Code, 2011 (amended 2019)

Comment

There are separate limits for each type of elections on the amount election committee can spend.

The expenditure limit in elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland is calculated by multiplying the number of voters in the country included in voter registers  by PLN 0.87 (regularly indexed value,, PLN 0.87 in 2019) and the total number of deputies elected in all constituencies in which the committee registered the lists of candidates, and then dividing the result obtained by the number 460.

The expenditure limit for elections to the Senate of the Republic of Poland is calculated on the basis of art. 259 § 1 of the Electoral Code by multiplying the number of voters in the country included in the voter registers by PLN 0.19 (regularly indexed value, PLN 0.19 in 2019) and by the number of constituencies in which the committee registered candidates for senators, and then dividing the result by 100.

The expenditure limit for the election committee, which has submitted both candidates to the Sejm and the Senate, is calculated by adding up the limits set for elections to each of these bodies. In the elections to the Sejm and Senate in 2019, the maximum possible spending limit was nearly PLN 32 million (about EUR 7.5 million).

In the presidential election, the spending limit is set for each election committee by multiplying the number of voters in the country listed in the electoral register by PLN 0.64. The expenditure limit on the election campaign in the election of the President of the Republic of Poland planned for 2020 is about PLN 19 million (EUR 4.4 million).

The expenditure limit for elections to the European Parliament is calculated by multiplying the amount of PLN 0.64 by the number of voters in the country included in the registers of voters in constituencies in which the committee has registered lists of candidates. In the elections to the European Parliament in 2019, the maximum possible spending limit was about PLN 19 million (EUR 4.4 million).

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