The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and the Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC) of Armenia have issued a joint statement regarding donations made to political parties participating in elections (including parties within party alliances), contributions to pre-election funds, and the management of those funds.

"The Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia and the Corruption Prevention Commission announce that they will continue active cooperation during the election campaign to ensure financial transparency and accountability of political parties. The use of the commissions' joint oversight toolkit will ensure control over the legality of both donations made to participating parties and contributions to pre-election funds.

Any identified violation will be prosecuted in court, with the application of liability measures provided by law.

Accordingly, we deem it necessary to address the requirements for declaring pre-election fund receipts and expenditures as established by the Constitutional Law 'Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia' (hereinafter: the Electoral Code), as well as the permissible sources of financing, restrictions, and procedures for donations established by the Constitutional Law 'On Parties' (hereinafter: the Law on Parties)."

ON DONATIONS TO PARTIES

Who Can Make Donations to Parties? Donations may be made only by citizens of the Republic of Armenia and exclusively to the party itself. In elections held under the proportional system, no entity other than the party itself has the right to make contributions to the pre-election fund account.

Mandatory Requirements and Procedure Individuals donating are required to provide their full name, Public Services Number (PSN/ՀԾՀ) or a reference number for the non-receipt of a PSN, as well as their identity document (ID/Passport) number.

Prohibited Donations (Entities Banned from Donating) Parties are prohibited from receiving donations from the following:

  • Foreign sources: Foreign states, individuals without RA citizenship, foreign legal entities, and international organizations.

  • Legal entities: Any type of legal entity (including state and municipal organizations, organizations with state/municipal participation, LLCs, CJSCs, charitable or religious organizations, etc.).

  • Public funds: State and municipal budgets and/or extra-budgetary funds (except for state financing provided by law).

  • Anonymous persons: When it is impossible to clearly identify the donor. Specifically, the CPC considers a donation anonymous if its details do not allow for the unambiguous identification of the donor.

What Constitutes a Donation A donation is not limited to the direct provision of cash. Under the Law "On Parties," donations include:

  • Direct monetary support: Cash donations, including loans.

  • Indirect monetary support: Repayment of a party’s debt by a third party, debt forgiveness by a creditor, or donations through other forms of activity.

  • In-kind donations:

    • Performance of work for the party free of charge;

    • Provision of services;

    • Transfer of property ownership or use to the party;

    • Performance of work, services, or transfer of property at a price significantly below the market value.

Note: A price is considered significantly below market value if it differs from the market rate by more than 20%. (For example, if the market price is 100,000 AMD, a price of 80,000 AMD is not yet considered significantly undervalued, but anything below 80,000 AMD is.)

Evaluation and Limits All in-kind donations must be appraised at market value. Their monetary value (or the resulting savings) is included in the legal maximum limit for that donor and must be reflected in reports.

Important Restriction Donations must be made personally. Each donor must independently transfer their own funds with mandatory identification. If donations are collected by another person, proper documentation, including powers of attorney to represent the donors, must be processed.

Limits

  • The total amount of donations, membership fees, and initiation fees provided to a party within one year cannot exceed 1 billion AMD.

  • Contributions from a single individual cannot exceed 10 million AMD.

  • An individual may donate to one or several parties within the maximum limit.

  • Compliance with the 1 billion AMD limit is verified at the end of the year, accounting for the difference between total receipts and the funds transferred by the party to pre-election funds.

ON PRE-ELECTION FUNDS

According to the Electoral Code, the pre-election fund of a party (or bloc) is formed exclusively by contributions from that party (or the parties within the bloc).

Provision of Goods or Services at Discounted Rates

  • Entities that do not have the right to donate to parties under the Law "On Parties" are also prohibited from providing goods or services free of charge or at sub-market prices as described in Article 27, Part 1 of the Electoral Code.

  • Citizens of Armenia may provide goods and services to a party (or bloc) free of charge or at sub-market prices only by signing a contract with an authorized representative of the party.

  • Authorized representatives have the right to sign contracts for goods and services to be paid for (or already paid for) from the pre-election fund.