NACP opens the POLITDATA Register of Political Parties' Reports

10.10.2023

On October 10, 2023, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) resumed access to the Unified State Register of Political Parties Reports on Property, Income, Expenses, and Financial Liabilities (hereinafter referred to as the POLITDATA Register), subject to personal data protection requirements. This means that political parties will be able to submit reports on their property, income, expenses, and financial liabilities (hereinafter referred to as "reports"). So far, this is a right, not an obligation, for political parties. Finally, the public will be able to see what political parties have been spending public funding on for more than three years, as they did not report at first due to COVID-19 and since 2022 due to martial law. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the NACP had to restrict access to a number of registers, including the POLITDATA Registry, taking into account the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "Some issues of ensuring the functioning of information and communication systems, electronic communication systems, and public electronic registers under martial law" of March 12, 2022, No. 263. "The NACP constantly emphasizes the importance of transparent reporting by political parties. During the pandemic and after the full-scale invasion, parliamentary parties continued to receive state funding. We are talking about almost UAH 3 billion. Therefore, the adoption of Law No. 3337 on the resumption of mandatory reporting and its verification by the National Agency will be an important step for the accountability of political parties to their voters. Political parties have also been given enough time to collect the necessary information and prepare reports in a quality manner. It is important that now they can report to taxpayers voluntarily, and from December 26, it will become their obligation," said NACP Head Oleksandr Novikov. In addition, the openness of the register will make it known not only what political parties spent money on but also who actively financed them. On December 26, 2023, the Law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Minimizing Potential Oligarchic Influence on Political Parties, Improving Mechanisms of State Financing, and State Control over the Activities of Political Parties" (No. 3337), which was signed by the President of Ukraine on September 26, 2023, will come into force. This decision will restore the obligation of all political parties to report on their finances and property, as well as the functions of the NACP to verify these reports. The parliamentary parties will be obliged to submit previously unreported reports (for 2020–2023) within 90 days after the Law enters into force, while other political parties must report within 120 days after the Law enters into force. The NACP will have 90 days to verify the submitted reports and therefore will not conduct any verification until December 26, 2023. In view of the upcoming legislative changes, in particular in terms of reporting during martial law, the NACP recommends submitting reports starting on December 26, 2023. It is worth noting that reports not submitted for 2020 shall be submitted exclusively in paper form, and those not submitted for the periods of 2021–2023 shall be submitted exclusively in electronic form to the POLITDATA Register. The NACP expects to receive more than 4 thousand such reports. We remind you that in order to submit a report, each political party must be registered in the POLITDATA Register. Instructions are available here. If a political party has an account in the POLITDATA Register, but for some reason its leader and/or authorized person do not have access rights to submit a report, we recommend that you contact the National Agency and submit documents in accordance with clause 1 of Section III of the Procedure for Formation and Maintenance of the Unified State Register of Political Parties' Reports on Property, Income, Expenses, and Financial Liabilities.