site.btaUPDATED Political Parties Collect BGN 2.7 Mln in Donation Funds for October 27 Election

A total of 28 political formations are participating in the upcoming early elections on October 27. Audit Chamber data show that by October 21 supporters and candidates have financed these formations with a total of BGN 2,697,398, said the Institute for Public Environment Development (IPED).

Parties and coalitions can finance their campaigns with their own party funds, candidate funds and donations from individuals. Although the main part of the income of the traditional parties was formed by state subsidy, new formations mainly relied on donations from supporters or candidates, explained IPED.

By October 21, supporters and candidates contributed to the income of their formations with a total of BGN 2,697,398.

A total of 10 formations received donations from individuals, and 11 received funds from  candidates.

MRF-New Beginning received the highest amount of donations, BGN 1,215,000 (45% of all donations), BGN 785,000 from MP candidates and BGN 430,000 from party supporters.

Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) received the second highest number of donations (BGN 627,824), followed by There Is Such a People (BNG 419, 770), Vazrazhdane (BGN 140,000), BSP-United Left (BGN 124,660 ), Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (BGN 65,320).

Of these, non-monetary funds were declared by the BSP-United Left in the amount of BGN 5,000 from a MP candidate, and by CC-DB in the amount of BGN 23,690 from candidates and two donations from individuals in the amount at BGN 540 and BGN 260,000.

Donations and funds from candidates have no ceiling, but all sums received by participants must be declared within seven days. They are published in the public register maintained by the Audit Chamber, which contains the complete financial information on the parties' election campaigns. The legal regulations for donations do not require declaring the origin of funds if the donation is below the minimum wage (BGN 933), and the Audit Chamber does not carry out an inspection in this case.

So far in the campaign, 115 monetary donations and 1 non-monetary donation under BGN 933 have been made. The remaining 109 monetary and 2 non-monetary donations were above this amount. The average value of monetary donations was BGN 5,633. 

The bulk of donations below the minimum wage amount were made to the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms campaign. Thus, Ahmed Dogan's Movement for Rights and Freedoms faction collected BGN 65,320 from party supporters. Seventy out of the total of 71 donations were made precisely on October 4th, and each of them was worth BGN 920. This is slightly below the minimum wage threshold, and thus the donors were not obliged to submit declarations on the origin of their funds, commented IPED.

IPED also noted that the supporters of There Is Such a People were five times more generous. Out of a total of 67 donations to the party, 52 were in the amount of BGN 5,000.

As IPED noted in previous publications on the topic, sometimes formations raise funds for a specific election campaign even before its start. They also observed such a practice in the current election campaign. With regard to the funds invested by candidates, more than half lack information on the date on which they were provided to the parties, the IPAD added.