Without donations from tycoons: how are the Likud primaries funded?
The state funds, the tycoons stay out: ahead of the Likud primaries, the law stipulates that MKs can receive funding from the state treasury up to a ceiling of 380 thousand shekels, and limits the ability of candidates to raise private donations. What is the situation for candidates who are not members of Knesset and what will happen to the money if they are not elected?
The Likud primaries are underway, and the question of funding is on the agenda. An amendment to the Political Parties Law from 2018, initiated by MK David Amsalem, establishes a mechanism for funding candidates so that the state covers the primary expenses of candidates who are public officials.
The amendment to the law is intended to put an end to the phenomenon of raising donations from tycoons by members of Knesset and to prevent a situation where they feel obligated to them after the elections. Instead, the state funds the contestants. The law also incentivizes them to reach the set funding expenditure ceiling.
According to the law, a candidate for the primaries is entitled to receive public funding from the state treasury if they are a member of Knesset, up to the amount of their expenditure ceiling. They are not permitted to receive donations or loans, except for donations from the candidate and their family members in an amount not exceeding the funding amount.
The ceiling set by law depends on the number of eligible voters in those elections. When the number of eligible voters exceeds one hundred thousand, as in the case of Likud, the expenditure ceiling is 380 thousand shekels. Note that in the primaries for the Democrats party, the ceiling was 275 thousand in accordance with the number of voters who participated on the determining date (less than 100 thousand).
Candidate who is not an MK
Candidates who are not members of Knesset will be able to raise donations or receive a loan from the state up to the amount of their expenditure ceiling, subject to a bank guarantee. If the candidate is elected to the Knesset within a year after the swearing-in of the new Knesset, the loan will become a grant, and the candidate will not have to repay it.
If the candidate does not become a member of Knesset, they will have to repay the loan. A new candidate who was not elected to the Knesset but received at least 60% of the votes required to be elected to the Knesset in the primaries will receive a partial grant.
Regarding donations, a candidate who is not a public official is permitted to receive a donation from an individual donor up to the amount of 13,470 shekels to fund their participation in the primaries. It is strictly forbidden to accept donations from corporations, anonymous donations, or cash donations over two hundred shekels.
