Elections for the President of Montenegro were announced by the decision of the President of the Parliament of Montenegro from January 16, 2023, and will be held on March 19, 2023. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption reminds all authorities that the Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns is applied in the territory of the whole country, starting from January 17.

The law prescribes obligations, restrictions and prohibitions for authorities, political entities and entities that provide media advertising services, as well as the responsibilities of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption during the campaign.

From the day the elections are announced, the deadlines for the authorities to publish and deliver to the Agency reports from the accounts in their possession start, as well as statements from the state treasury and analytical cards on the use of budget reserves, data on the distribution of social benefits, employment decisions and other documents, in order to achieve transparency of the use of public resources during the election campaign.

In particular, we draw attention to those prohibitions and obligations for authorities for which the Agency initiated the most misdemeanor proceedings in the earlier period, and they refer to the limitation of monthly spending and the limitation and transparency of employment and engagement of persons in the campaign.

The authorities are obliged to submit all employment decisions made in accordance with the laws regulating labor relations, rights and obligations of civil servants and state employees, and obligation relations, with complete supporting documentation, to the Agency within three days from the date of the decision.

Authorities are obliged to respect monthly spending limits in accordance with the limits prescribed in Article 38 of the Law, as well as to regularly publish and deliver analytical cards from all accounts they have in their possession. The limitation of monthly consumption that applies to authorities from the mentioned article of the Law will be monitored during February.

The Agency emphasizes that, in accordance with the opinion of the Ministry of Finance, monthly spending does not include donations, loans and court enforcement.

The obligation to publish relevant data is prescribed on a seven-day basis, and the first reporting day is Monday, January 23.

Article 40 of the Law prohibits state and local consumer units from paying, that is, giving one-time financial assistance, in accordance with the law regulating the rights and performance of social and child protection activities, except in the case of the death of a family member, a serious illness that causes permanent disability in a percentage greater than 50% or damage to a residential building or property due to fire or natural disaster. A detailed explanation of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption regarding social benefits in the election campaign is available at the link.

Subjects to the Law are obliged to comply with the prohibitions and limitations prescribed by the Law, which, among other things, refer to the limitation of employment, the prohibition of using public premises under conditions that are not equal for all political entities, and others.

Obligations, prohibitions and limitations for authorities can be found on the link Instructions for subjects to the Law.

For any additional information, subjects to the Law can contact the Section for Implementation of Control Measures in Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns at following phone numbers: 020/447-706 and 020/447-724, as well as at the email finansiranje@antikorupcija.me.

The Agency will make the complete documentation that it controls available to the public, by publishing it on its website. Through system control and monitoring of the campaign, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption will make its full contribution to the integrity and credibility of the election process.