Federal Act on Political Rights
Inserted by No I of the FA of 18 June 2021 (Transparency in Political Funding), in force since 23 Oct. 2022 (AS 2022 466; BBl 2019 7875, 8207).
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 76b Duty of disclosure for political parties
1 The political parties represented in the Federal Assembly shall disclose their funding. 2 They shall fulfil this duty by disclosing the following to the competent body: a. their income; b. all economic donations made to them voluntarily (monetary and non-monetary donations) and exceeding the value of 15,000 Swiss francs per donor and year; c. the contributions of the individual mandate holders. 3 Members of the Federal Assembly who do not belong to a political party shall disclose monetary and non-monetary donations in accordance with paragraph 2 letter b.
Art. 76c Duty of disclosure in election and popular vote campaigns
1 Individuals, legal entities and partnerships that run a campaign related to an election to the National Council or a federal vote must disclose the funding thereof if they spend more than 50,000 francs. 2 They shall fulfil this duty by disclosing the following to the competent body: a. the budgeted income and the final statement of income; b. monetary and non-monetary donations received in the 12 months preceding the vote or election and exceeding the value of 15,000 francs per donor and campaign. 3 Individuals, legal entities and partnerships that have run a campaign for the election of a member of the Council of States and have spent more than 50,000 francs on this campaign must disclose the final statement of income and the monetary and non-monetary donations specified in paragraph 2 letter b. 4 If two or more persons or partnerships run a joint campaign, they must jointly submit the budgeted income and the final statement of income; in the case of elections to the Council of Stat
Art. 76d Deadlines and modalities of the disclosure obligation
1 The following shall be submitted: a. the information specified in Article 76b every year; b. in the case of popular votes and elections to the National Council, the budgeted income 45 days before, and the final account of income and the monetary and non-monetary donations specified in Article 76c paragraph 2 letter b 60 days after the popular vote or election; c. in the case of elections to the Council of States, the final statement of income and the monetary and non-monetary donations specified in Article 76c paragraph 2 letter b 30 days after taking office. 2 Between the deadline for submitting the budgeted income and the date of the election or vote, the monetary and non-monetary donations specified in Article 76c paragraph 2 letter b shall be reported to the competent body without delay. 3 The monetary and non-monetary donations shall be shown separately in the budgeted income and in the final statement of income. 4 When reporting monetary and non-monetary donations worth more th
Art. 76e Verification
1 The competent body shall verify whether all the information and documents specified in Articles 76b and 76c have been submitted by the political actors within the deadline. The accuracy of the information and documents shall be verified on a random basis. 2 If the competent body establishes that any information and documents have not been submitted on time or are inaccurate, it shall request the actors responsible to provide the required information and documents and shall set a deadline for them to do so. 3 If the information and documents are not provided within the deadline set, the competent body is obliged to report offences which have come to its attention during the verification process to the competent prosecution authority. When setting deadlines in accordance with paragraph 2, it shall draw attention to this obligation to report offences.
Art. 76f Publication
1 On completing the verification process in accordance with Article 76e, the competent body shall publish the information and the documents on its website. 2 The following deadlines for publication apply: a. the information pursuant to Article 76d paragraph 1 letter a shall be published every year; b. the information specified in Article 76d paragraph 1 letters b and c shall be published no later than 15 days after its receipt by the competent body. 3 The information on monetary and non-monetary donations to be reported immediately in accordance with Article 76d paragraph 2 shall be published on receipt.
Art. 76g Competent body
The Federal Council shall designate the competent authority for verification and publication.
Art. 76h Anonymous donations and donations from abroad
1 It is prohibited for political actors in accordance with Articles 76b and 76c to accept: a. monetary and non-monetary donations made anonymously; or b. monetary and non-monetary donations from abroad. 2 Monetary and non-monetary donations from Swiss citizens resident abroad are not regarded as donations from abroad. 3 Any person who receives an anonymous monetary or non-monetary donation must: a. ascertain the source in accordance with Article 76d paragraph 4; or b. return the donation if possible; if returning the donation is not possible or not practicable, the donation must be reported to the competent body and handed over to the Confederation. 4 Any person who receives a monetary or non-monetary donation from abroad must return it. If returning the donation is not possible or not practicable, the donation must be reported to the competent body and handed over to the Confederation. 5 In derogation from paragraphs 1–4, political actors in accordance with Article 76c paragraph 3 mus
Art. 76i Processing of personal data and exchange of information
1 In order to perform its statutory duties, in particular for verification and publication purposes, the competent body is authorised to process the following personal data: a. data on the identity and financial circumstances of political actors in accordance with Articles 76b and 76c; b. data on the identity of persons who provide monetary and non-monetary donations to political actors in accordance with Articles 76b and 76c; c. data on the identity of mandate holders who pay a contribution to the political parties in accordance with Article 76b. 2 The competent body may pass on to the following authorities the information on political actors, such as personal data, that is required to perform their statutory duties: a. the cantonal and communal authorities responsible under cantonal law for transparency in political funding; b. the competent prosecution authorities, when reporting an offence in accordance with Article 76e paragraph 3. 3 At the request of the competent body in accorda
Art. 76j Criminal provisions
1 A fine of up to 40,000 francs shall be imposed on anyone who wilfully: a. fails to comply with a duty of disclosure under Articles 76b–76d; b. fails to comply with an obligation under Article 76h paragraphs 3–5. 2 The cantons are responsible for prosecution.
Art. 76k Reservation of cantonal legislation
The cantons shall have the right to issue stricter provisions on the disclosure of the funding of cantonal political actors when exercising political rights at federal level.