31. What are the provisions on 'ear marking' direct public funding to political parties (how it should be used)?

Article 28, para 1, of the Polish Act on Political Party; Article 150, para 1, 2 of the Election Code

Subsidies may be used for both campaign activities and ongoing party activities. 

A political party which is in receipt of the subsidy shall remit between 5% and 15% of the subsidy to the Expert Fund. Funds accumulated in the Expert Fund may be used to finance legal, political, sociological and socio-economic expert opinions and to finance publishing and educational activities relating to a political party’s business envisaged by its constitution.

In regards to the election campaign, the political party, whose election committee participated in the elections, the political party comprising an election coalition committee, and the election committee of voters participating in elections to the Sejm and the Senate is entitled to a grant from the state budget, hereinafter referred to as an “entity subsidy”, for each mandate for deputy and senator obtained. Expenses incurred as a result of the entity subsidy shall be covered by the state budget from the section on Budget for public finance and financial institutions.

The amount of subsidy is calculated as follows:

Dp = W/560 x M

where the symbols are defined as: Dp - the amount of subsidy afforded, W - total campaign expenses of election committees (up to the amount of spending limits allocated to electoral committees in elections to the Sejm and the Senate), which received at least one mandate, M - the number of mandates of deputies and senators received by the election committee. The entity subsidy applies only to expenditures revealed in financial reports.