NAPC head calls on Zelensky to veto, return for revision amendments on parties law adopted by Rada

KYIV. Nov 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Head of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), Oleksandr Novikov, has called on President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to veto and return the law, which amends the regulation of financing the activities of political parties, for revision to the Verkhovna Rada.

"The real restoration of the reporting of political parties is a very important tool in order to stop the influence of financial and industrial groups on politics and create an effective political system in Ukraine as a whole. However, the introduction of this law in this form will only interfere with these goals. That is why the NAPC team calls on President to veto this law for further revision by the Verkhovna Rada," the press service of the NAPC quoted Novikov on the Telegram on Tuesday.

The Agency emphasized that during the voting, the deputies made changes to corresponding bill No. 5253-1, which may allow parties to hide their real expenses.

In particular, the law contains separate rules that continue to create preconditions for the opaque activities of political parties, since it does not resume the parties’ report, which was suspended in early 2020 due to quarantine restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is important, since all parliamentary parties now receive state funding from taxpayers, but none of them submitted a report even for the first quarter of 2021," the statement says.

In addition, the law allows parties to report not all of their financial obligations and allows them not to consider contributions to the party of work, goods or services necessary to counter COVID-19 without specifying the period of validity of this norm (indefinitely).

"This rule, despite its important goal, will allow parties to ignore the statutory limits on contributions and not reflect these contributions and the corresponding expenses in the report," the NAPC stressed.

It is noted that the Agency has already prepared and submitted to the President of Ukraine proposals on the full resumption of reporting by political parties.

As reported, on November 2, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on changing the procedure for terminating the financing of political parties.

The document provides for the improvement of the procedures for stopping and terminating state funding of the statutory activities of political parties.

The bill leaves to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) the authority to control party finances and at the same time proposes to clarify certain grounds for stopping and terminating state funding of the statutory activities of the political forces.

It is about the failure of the parties to submit a report on property, income, expenses and liabilities of a financial nature, the submission of a report in which false information is indicated that differ from reliable information in the amount of more than one hundred times the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons established on January 1 of the reporting year, and also if such a report was drawn up in gross violation of the statutory requirements.

The bill also proposes to provide parties with the opportunity, if circumstances are identified that serve as grounds for stopping or terminating state funding, to eliminate them or provide written explanations with the necessary documents and evidence.

According to the bill, additional requirements are also established on the validity and promulgation of the decisions of the NAPC on the suspension or termination of state financing of parties.

In addition, the bill increases to 100 living wages for able-bodied persons the size of the discrepancy between the information specified in the party’s report and reliable information for stopping or terminating state funding, and also proposes to provide for the possibility of placing political force funds (including state funding) on deposit accounts with the purpose of obtaining passive income in the form of interest (such passive income is not considered a contribution to the benefit of a political party).