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Domestic

Draft amendments to Law on Political Parties recommended to plenary sitting of Azerbaijani Parliament â€“ UPDATED

Draft amendments to Law on Political Parties recommended to plenary sitting of Azerbaijani Parliament â€“ <font color=red>UPDATED </font>

10 April 2012 10:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov â€“ APA. Amendments to the Law on Political Parties were discussed by the Legal Policy and State-Building Committee of the Azerbaijani Parliament. According to APA, representatives of the political parties represented at the parliament and OSCE Office in Baku attended the discussions.

According to the amendments, 10 percent of the fund allocated from the state budget for financing of political parties, will be proportionally shared among the political parties, which candidates gained at least 3 percent of votes during the parliamentary elections, but didnâ€™t win parliamentary seats. 40 percent of the allocated financial resources will be equally shared among the political parties represented in the parliament, 50 percent will be proportionally shared according to the number of elected deputies.

If political parties participate in the parliamentary elections as a political bloc, the allocated fund is given to each party separately. The resources allocated from the state budget are transferred by the relevant executive authorities to the banking accounts of the political parties by equal installments on quarters. If the parties refuse to receive allocations, the resources are returned to the budget. According to the amendments, the political parties have the right to receive donations. The political parties must submit annual financial report, including the note about the membership fees, to the relevant executive authorities not later than April 1. The number of party members paid membership fees should also be noted in the report. The partiesâ€™ annual financial reports together with the auditorâ€™s opinion should be published in the press.

The political parties are prohibited to receive donations from the government institutions, municipalities, foreign countries and foreign legal entities, foreign citizens and stateless persons, persons under age, persons, who donâ€™t show ID card and its substitutes, military bases, public unions, foundations, religious organizations and legal entities.

The draft amendments also note that the activity of the political party could be banned by the court on application of the relevant executive authorities until the court decision about the abolition of this party is passed.

After the discussions, the draft amendments were recommended to the plenary sitting of the Azerbaijani parliament.