Association of Pensioners of RS: Funeral money spent on election campaign

Money from the coffers of the Association of Pensioners of RS, intended for funerals of deceased members, was spent on the election campaign of Ilija Stevančević, reports the Patria news agency.

Rade Rakulj claims that certain municipal associations have been financially supporting the Party of United Pensioners for years. He warns that this is contrary to the law and the organization's statute, but as president, he says, he cannot put a stop to it.

"They have no right to allocate membership fees from these humanitarian purposes for elections and for election activities in politics," says Rade Rakulj, president of the Association of Pensioners of RS.

Why social money is being spent on the election campaign, we also asked the leader of the PUP, Ilija Stevančević, who promised a statement, then turned off his phone and was unavailable for comment all day. During the election campaign, his party collected about ten thousand marks from the coffers of municipal associations in Teslić, Bosanska Gradiška, Nevesinje, and Trebinje.

In the Trebinje Association of Pensioners, they believe they have not broken the law, and they tell Rade Rakulj to stay away from their budget.

"We exclusively, if we help with our own membership fee funds, this local Party of United Pensioners. It is not against the law, we are not giving away other people's money, I have the right to give it to whomever I want personally," responds Rade Tarailo, president of the Trebinje Association of Pensioners.

While their representatives see nothing wrong, pensioners in Trebinje regret that the money they set aside for hard times is being spent on election campaigns.

In addition to the statute, financing political parties is also prohibited for the pensioners' association by law, because as a non-governmental organization, it is partially funded from the budget.

At the Central Election Commission, they say that the goal of the law is to prevent the merging of parties and non-governmental organizations with state money, so back in 2013, they warned Stevančević not to accept donations that are prohibited by law.

Rade Rakulj calls on the competent authorities to check the finances of the Party of United Pensioners, ATV reported.