NGO: Election financing lacks transparency

There is still no public information as to how parties are financing their elections campaigns. There is also no way to stop parties from gathering campaign funds from prohibited sources. NGO: Election financing lacks transparency The goals of the law for financing political parties have not been implemented, Transparency Serbia Program Director Nemanja Nenadic claimed. “This is a danger in this election campaign as well,” Nenadic told daily Danas. He said that the main reason that little was known about campaign financing was that the “parties tend to shy away from recording the names of the largest donors.” The Transparency Serbia director said that the parties did so because the donors wished to remain anonymous, in case the funds donated had not been earned in a legal manner. Nenadic also said that information regarding campaign funding was not available in time, even though the public had a right to know how much was spent on media campaigns, billboards and rallies, in order to compare these figures to the official information stated in the reports. “Special attention should be given to the misuse of public functions and public resources during the campaign,” the Transparency director pointed out. He said that the situation concerning the presidential elections was still unresolved, given that there was a great discrepancy in the expenses that there shown and those that were reported by the parties that finished first and second—the Democratic Party (DS) and the Serb Radical Party (SRS). The DS’s expenses were 4.5 times greater than those of the SRS, which, according to Nenadic, “is a difference that is very hard to maintain.” Transparency Serbia has asked the Republic Election Commission (RIK) for a copy of the reported expenses from the presidential elections, but has yet to receive them. Nenadic said that fines for incorrect reports ranged from EUR 600 for physical to EUR 12,200 for legal entities. “There are also added fines, which state that whoever is responsible for the violation could lose the right to budget assets in the next year—we’re then talking about tens of thousands of euros,” he explained.

NGO: Election financing lacks transparency

The goals of the law for financing political parties have not been implemented, Transparency Serbia Program Director Nemanja Nenadić claimed.

“This is a danger in this election campaign as well,” Nenadić told daily Danas.

He said that the main reason that little was known about campaign financing was that the “parties tend to shy away from recording the names of the largest donors.”

The Transparency Serbia director said that the parties did so because the donors wished to remain anonymous, in case the funds donated had not been earned in a legal manner.

Nenadić also said that information regarding campaign funding was not available in time, even though the public had a right to know how much was spent on media campaigns, billboards and rallies, in order to compare these figures to the official information stated in the reports.

“Special attention should be given to the misuse of public functions and public resources during the campaign,” the Transparency director pointed out.

He said that the situation concerning the presidential elections was still unresolved, given that there was a great discrepancy in the expenses that there shown and those that were reported by the parties that finished first and second—the Democratic Party (DS) and the Serb Radical Party (SRS).

The DS’s expenses were 4.5 times greater than those of the SRS, which, according to Nenadić, “is a difference that is very hard to maintain.”

Transparency Serbia has asked the Republic Election Commission (RIK) for a copy of the reported expenses from the presidential elections, but has yet to receive them.

Nenadić said that fines for incorrect reports ranged from EUR 600 for physical to EUR 12,200 for legal entities.

“There are also added fines, which state that whoever is responsible for the violation could lose the right to budget assets in the next year—we’re then talking about tens of thousands of euros,” he explained.