Agency for Prevention of Corruption

Notice for authorities, political entities and entities that provide media services about obligations during the election campaign

Aug. 5, 2022

The Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns prescribes obligations, restrictions and prohibitions in the election campaign for authorities, political entities and entities that provide media advertising services, as well as the competences of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption during the campaign.

On August 2, 2022, the President of Montenegro, by a special decision, suspended the execution of earlier decisions on calling elections for councilors, and then called regular local elections in 11 municipalities and the capital city of Podgorica, as well as early elections for the assemblies of the municipalities of Tivat and Budva, which will be held on October 23.

According to the Law, the election campaign starts from the day the election is announced, and all obligations apply to all subjects to the Law, regardless of the actions they took in the previous period. This means that political entities are obliged to open new giro accounts in the campaign, while media service providers are obliged to submit new price lists for electoral advertising.

From the day the elections are announced, i.e., from August 3, the authorities have a deadline to publish and deliver to the Agency reports from the accounts they have in their possession, statements from the state treasury and analytical cards on the consumption of budget reserves, data on the distribution of social benefits, employment decisions and other documents, with the aim of transparency in the use of public resources during the campaign.

The obligation to publish relevant data is prescribed on a seven-day basis. Publication day is Monday, starting August 8.

The Agency draws the attention of authorities to the obligation to submit all employment decisions made in accordance with the laws governing labor relations, the rights and obligations of civil servants and state employees, and contractual relations, with complete supporting documentation, within three days from the date of the decision, as well as the obligation to respect the monthly spending limit in accordance with Article 38 of the Law (for most budget units, a limit has been set at the level of the average monthly consumption in the previous six months).

Obligations, prohibitions and restrictions for the authorities can be found at the link Uputstvo za obveznike (Manual for subjects to the Law).

For any additional information, subjects to the Law can contact the Department for the Control of Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, by phone at 020/407-706 and 020/447-724 and by email finansiranje@antikorupcija.me.