Got a million, spent three - the income and expenses of the parties in the campaign

Fifteen papers that participated in the June parliamentary elections reported a total of about one million euros in income for campaign financing and expenses of three million euros.

This is shown by the report on the financing of the campaigns for the elections held on June 11, which was published yesterday by the NGO Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS).

The document says that the largest part of the reported income for the campaigns is budget funds, and that only two lists reported debt - the lists of the strongest ruling party - the Europe Now Movement (PES) and the non-parliamentary Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The most revenue for the campaign was collected by PES, almost 350 thousand euros. In second place is the SDP with around 120 euros, and in third place is the Movement for Change (PZP), with less than 70 euros, which was also left without parliamentary status. This is followed by the coalition of Democrats and the Civic Movement GP (URA), with 64 thousand euros.

The Coalition for the Future of Montenegro (ZBCG), which consists of parties Andrije Mandić i Milan Knežević, reported income of less than 60 thousand euros, and the Socialist People's Party (SNP) about 55 thousand. All other election lists, as stated in the MANS report, reported incomes between 40 and 50 thousand euros.

The document says that budget funds make up about 55 percent of the total reported income in the campaign, and that these funds are not the dominant source of income for only two lists - PES, which took a loan of 300 thousand euros, and SDP, with a loan of about 70 thousand.

After the budget and loans, the paper's own funds follow (with around six percent), and this is money from the account for regular financing of parties that has been diverted for campaigns. The initial source of these funds, it is explained in the document, is not specified, but they can come from budget funds for regular financing of parties, but also from private donations.

"The largest amount of own funds was reported by PzP, 25 thousand euros. In second place is the coalition of Democrats and GP URA with 20, the SNP in third place with 11, and the SDP, which registered seven thousand, the report states.

Donations from individuals and legal entities account for only two percent of the newspaper's reported income each. The ZBCG coalition reported almost 17 donations from companies, the People's Coalition 5,7, Urokret 4,5, the People's Movement Justice for All 2,7, the coalition gathered around the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) less than 1,8, the Democrats and GP URA XNUMX, XNUMX thousand, PES two thousand, and SNP around XNUMX thousand.

According to the report, only about 50 euros were collected from donations from individuals and legal entities for the campaign.

"Unlike previous election cycles, when the total funds voluntarily donated by citizens or companies exceeded several hundred thousand euros each, and the origin of part of that money was most often left unexplained," the document reads.

The biggest donation, 15 thousand euros, was given by the Serbian House to the ZBCG coalition, ten days before the elections. The report reminds that Srpska kuća is officially registered as a limited liability company from Podgorica, which performs administrative and auxiliary service activities, i.e. organizing meetings and fairs. MANS indicates that "donations from a private company founded by another state" are worrisome. They state that the website of the Serbian House says that it was established thanks to a donation from the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

The company "Cerovo" gave products worth 1,5 thousand euros to the coalition of Democrats and GP URA. That company is owned by the former Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Goran Đurović, who had suspended management rights in it for performing that function.

In the report, MANS apostrophizes that the donation of the company's products is against the law, bearing in mind that "Cerovo" concluded a public procurement contract with the local company Vodovod i Kanalizacija from Bar in the last two years. According to MANS, they reported that case to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK), which made a decision to initiate proceedings ten days after the report was filed. More than a month after the application was submitted, at the end of October 2023, the ASK determined that the coalition of Democrats and GP URA violated the law.

The report shows that the coalition gathered around the DPS collected only four thousand euros, based on the donations of its six officials, members or sympathizers.

"Party officials donated 999 euros each Aleksandar Žurić and Aleksandar Bogdanović, while Zoja Bojanić Lalović gave a contribution of 500 euros. The same amount was contributed by the members of the party Danilo Ratković i Lidija Moračanin, while another 500 euros was added by a certain one Mirjana Bosković, for which there is no information as to whether it is an official member of this or other parties from the coalition," the MANS document reads.

The NGO states that it is a modest amount compared to the money that DPS normally collects from its officials, members or sympathizers.

"Which is a process that MANS has previously investigated and which turned out to have the characteristics of injecting money from the so-called black funds, bearing in mind that the party's campaign was helped with money by socially disadvantaged citizens and workers of local companies, and that the officials paid the money most often on the same day and in the same bank", notes MANS.

The People's Coalition, whose leaders were the former head of the National Security Agency (ANB) Dejan Vuksic and recent MP Marko Milacic, she had two individual donations in the total amount of nine thousand euros. The Upheaval movement led by the former MPs Srdjan Peric, collected 5,7 thousand euros, predominantly from members and individuals who were on their list.

According to the report, PES reported only one donation, in the amount of 2.000 euros, which was paid by a certain Boris Atanasov, owner of the travel agency "Fly Montenegro Travel from Podgorica". The ZBCG coalition also received a donation from the company "Mediterranean Travel" in the form of a service worth 1,8 thousand euros. According to the report, it is about a company from Budva owned by him Jovan Dokic who is also the owner of the company "Mediterranean Express" also from Budva. That other company of his, according to MANS, has an active contract with the Municipality of Budva, which the ASK determined threatens the public interest.

SNP and Demos reported 1.800 euros in contributions that they received from one natural person. The Justice for All Movement, whose list holder is the former Minister of Justice Vladimir Leposavic, had 1.795 euros in contributions from natural persons. The report states that two donations from legal entities to that movement represent the return of unused funds to the account of the company Google and amount to a total of 2,7 thousand euros.

The coalition of Democrats and GP URA also received a non-monetary income of 1,200 euros in the form of services from the company Ara from Nikšić, whose owner is Nikola Koćalo, entrepreneur from Nikšić and former official of Positive Montenegro.

Big debts, no one controls whether they are paid

The MANS report states that most of the election lists had large debts after the vote, but that due to the imprecision of the legal provisions, no institution controls whether they have been paid or whether they essentially represent hidden donations.

"In their official reports, electoral lists state that they paid only part of the campaign costs. The largest debts were left to DPS, then to the coalition of Democrats and GP URA, then to ZBCG and PES," the document says.

The data show that the reported donations are significantly less than in previous election cycles, and especially, MANS reiterates, donations from a private company founded by another state (the House of Serbia) are of concern, "because in this way, space can be provided for financing from abroad".

Many showed lower costs

Three quarters of the total reported costs (out of a total of three million euros) refer to the four largest coalitions - DPS, Democrats and GP URA, ZBCG and PES.

DPS spent almost 900 thousand, which is close to 30 percent of the total costs of the campaign, Democrats and GP URA 540 thousand euros (18 percent), ZBCG 475 thousand (16 percent) and PES 390 thousand (13 percent).

MANS notes that many lists have shown lower campaign costs and that their reports do not contain real data. In the official reports, they say, the lower costs of advertising on social networks and media, production of video spots, per diem of activists, transportation, and especially public opinion polls and overhead-administrative costs are shown.

"The biggest parties from one election cycle to another use the same suppliers who are most often directly connected to them. Those suppliers are in a conflict of interest when they provide services to other parties", according to MANS.

The report separates three large groups of reported campaign costs - media, advertising material and other costs.

MANS adds that the costs of public opinion research were reported by only three election lists - the Bosniak Party over 11 thousand euros, the Albanian Forum about XNUMX thousand and the DPS about XNUMX thousand euros.

"It is very difficult to imagine that large electoral lists such as PES, ZBCG and the coalition of Democrats and GP URA did not conduct public opinion surveys at all during the election campaign, so there is a strong possibility that these costs were hidden," the report says.

900 euros for advertising, 380 euros for daily wages for activists

MANS stated in the report that the election lists reported that they spent a total of almost 900 thousand euros for advertising in the media. Almost half of that amount refers to advertisements on television, and slightly more than a third to advertising in newspapers and on portals.

"The largest expenses in this category were reported by the coalition of Democrats and GP URA, almost 250 thousand euros, and PES with only a thousand euros less. In third place is the coalition gathered around DPS, with around 145 thousand euros. The ZBCG coalition is behind them with less than 65," the document says.

All election lists reported almost 380 thousand euros in expenses of activists, of which 97 percent refers to daily wage payments, and the rest to related taxes and contributions.

"Taxes on daily wages were reported only by some electoral lists (ZBCG, Albanian Alliance, Movement for Change, SDP and Preokret). DPS paid over 97 euros to the activists, but did not report the tax costs on those per diems," notes MANS.