ACCOUNT WITHOUT THE BARKEEPER Parties squandered millions in campaign, then tried to cover it up

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Fifteen leading political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina reported 4.5 million KM in propaganda expenses in their post-election reports for the recent local elections. However, the costs of media and outdoor advertising (via billboards) recorded by Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) during the campaign alone amount to at least 1.8 million KM, exceeding this figure, which clearly shows that the parties did not present realistic information on financing.

It should be noted that TI BiH recorded billboard advertising costs, for which parties are estimated to have spent around 3.58 million KM, in only 70 out of a total of 142 local communities, and that costs for online and other forms of advertising for which no data exist were not recorded, clearly indicating that the amount parties actually spent on propaganda is far higher.

On the other hand, data on media advertising collected for TI BiH by a media monitoring agency show that 15 parties spent at least 2.79 million KM on producing and airing ads in the media. TI BiH has for years pointed out the shortcomings of the Law on Financing Political Parties, which allows parties to bypass reporting all income and expenses, as demonstrated by the latest post-election financial reports of parties published by the Central Election Commission (CIK).

Thus, the SNSD reported total propaganda expenses of 845,000 KM in its reports, although according to TI BiH estimates, only the billboard and media advertising of this party were worth 1.4 million KM. Furthermore, the data that this party reported only 935 KM as the cost of holding pre-election rallies sounds absurd, given that both before and during the campaign they held dozens of smaller and larger rallies with sound systems, stages, food, drinks, and all other amenities whose price does not even remotely correspond to the reported amount.

On the other hand, this party states in its report that it did not receive a single mark in donations from private companies and mostly justifies its expenses with budget revenues and membership fees.

The case is almost identical for the PDP, where this party, according to market prices, spent around 911,000 KM on media and billboard advertising alone, while reporting total propaganda expenses of 407,000 KM. When adding the costs of online advertising and other forms of promotion, it is clear that the total amount is far higher.

This party states that it did not spend a single mark on pre-election rallies, and its total revenues amount to around 419,000 KM, mostly from the budget. The PDP reports liabilities of around 548,000 KM, which largely relate to obligations towards media and marketing agencies.

The data collected by TI BiH, which pertains to only two forms of advertising, drastically differs from the total propaganda expenses reported in the reports of the SDS (around 408,500 KM), United Srpska (70,000 KM), as well as the reports of People and Justice (around 195,000 KM). NIP states that propaganda costs amounted to 103,000 KM, but for only four suppliers of printing and advertising services, they reported liabilities of around 185,000 KM, while the total liabilities of this party exceed 242,000 KM. The SDA states it spent 805,000 KM on propaganda, of which 46,000 KM on pre-election rallies, while TI BiH data indicate that the value of billboard and media advertising is over 922,000 KM.

From the published reports, it is not clear from which sources the campaign was financed by parties participating in elections for the first time and which do not have large budget revenues. Thus, the Social Democrats of BiH (founded in 2019) reported total campaign costs of 7,062 KM, although TI BiH field observers documented billboards of this party which, at market prices, were worth at least 85,000 KM, and some of them were displayed even before the campaign, for which the CIK imposed a fine on this party after a complaint by TI BiH. DEMOS states in its report that it financed the campaign through donations from prominent members who each donated 10,000 KM, but the reported figure also differs from what was recorded during the campaign by about 60,000 KM.

The case of the SPS, founded in February 2020, is also interesting, because in their report they state that they spent more in the campaign than they collected in donations from prominent members. Liabilities of 47,000 KM are reported, but the presented data are about 20% lower than those recorded by TI BiH for only two forms of advertising in the campaign.

TI BiH has for years pointed out that parties do not report all the income at their disposal, and that part of the campaign is financed by numerous privileged private companies that do business with the state, which is prohibited by law. Also, party campaigns are often financed by public institutions and public enterprises, which is also prohibited, and TI BiH observers during the monitoring of the pre-election period recorded 32 cases where equipment of public enterprises and institutions was used for party purposes and 21 examples of paid advertising by institutions promoting candidates.

TI BiH will submit the collected documentation on the monitoring of media and outdoor advertising of political parties to the CIK, whose auditors are yet to review the finances of political parties and determine the veracity of the presented data.