Campaign financing – parliamentary elections May 2008

1. Campaign financing – parliamentary elections May 2008 Transparency – Serbia Belgrade, September 1st 2008.

2. Collected assets by sources

3. Chronology of REC’s proceedings • Demand addressed to REC on June 5th 2008 • Delivered to REC : June 11th 2008 • June 25th 2008 : Letter with which REC informs us on prolonging of legal deadline until July 15th2008 because of quantityof material asked • July 21st 2008.: Complaint was filled to Commissioner for Information because even after additionally determined deadline REC didn’t deliver any answer • July 31st 2008: Incomplete answer from REC

4. What did REC deliver and what didn’t • REC delivered: copies of Report on sources, amount and structure of assets spent for election campaignof submitters of election lists on elections held on 11, 18. and 25. May 2008. for election of deputies in National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. • REC didn’t deliver: copies of Report on sources, amount and structure of assets spent for election campaignof submitters of election lists and proposersof candidates at the elections for: • Specifications attached to reports on financing of campaign for parliamentary elections • Deputies for parliament of AP • Deputies in parliament of City of Belgrade • Deputies in parliaments of cities • Deputies in municipalities • TS still holds complaint regarding documents which aren’t delivered.

5. Balanceof incomes and expenditures during campaign and after it

6. Structure of reported private sources of incomes

7. Structure of expenditures

8. Prices of advertising on TV RTS

9. Prices of advertising on TV STB

10. Status of implementation of Law and prepositions Situation is even worst then after previous elections in each sense: • Some participants at the elections didn’t submit reports or didn’t do it on time • Most of the reports contain formal mistakes or point out to illegal financing • It isn’t shown where from the rest of the expenses will be paid or sources of financing aren’t stated • Parliamentary parties count on advanced budget donations on the bases of election success and don’t have “spareoption” of financing • There is no sign that REC organized any control of reports • REC didn’t made reports available to public even after three months of termination of election process • Consequences: parties entered into new calling of parliament without belief on clean accounts towards voters and donors and by that lessened their anticorruption capacity, and public stayed again withheld for important information Possible short term solutions: • That national assembly should ask from REC to execute appropriate control, publish complete reports and bring procedure against violatorsand if needed changes structure of REC • To enable State Audit Institution to execute control • Long term, by changes of the law, procedure of checking should be entrusted, to other independent and expert body instead of REC and rules on campaign financing and reporting on that should be precised