The way the regime worked before the 2009 referendum, we had committees for that one, umbrella committees, proponent and opponent groups that were given the public funding, but in addition to that—and this is all there was in previous referendums—you could register as a referendum advertiser. It was like being a third party advertiser in an election.
The rules in 2009 were very clear, though. If you were a referendum advertiser, you couldn't promote a political party or a candidate. If you were a political party, you could state your position on the referendum, but you had to consider that advertising as an election expense and you had to stay within the expense limits. You could become a registered referendum advertiser and a registered election advertiser, but you had to keep your messages separate then. There were no limits on spending and no limits on contributions to third parties.