Skopje urged to set more realistic limits on campaign spending - and enforce them.
By Nevena Angelovska in Skopje (Balkan Insight, 2 Mar 06)

As Macedonian legislators amend election laws to meet European demands, experts are urging them to set more realistic limits on the amount of money that parties are allowed to spend during elections.
The European Union, which accepted Macedonia as a candidate state last December, has said the actual launch of talks will depend on Skopje's close adherence to EU election rules, which demand clarity on financing.

On March 1, the EU ambassador to Skopje, Ervan Fuere, added to the debate, urging parliament to tackle the current law on party funding, especially with regard to election costs.

"The financing of election campaigns is an important issue and clear rules are required," he said. "We have to be sure elections really will be carried out according to European standards," he added.

Experts say one problem is that the election spending threshold was set too low. Under current law, parties are allowed to spend no more than 15 denars per voter during any one campaign, which effectively imposes a limit of around 400,000 euro.

Most independent estimates suggest the limit is unrealistic, with the result that parties routinely overspend.

The cost of advertising alone quickly eats into a budget of 400,000 euro. A second of primetime advertising on the most popular national television channel, A1, for example, costs 60 to 100 euros. A single page advertisement in a top newspaper costs 400 to 800 euros, while merely renting a billboard for a month costs 250 to 400 euros.

Estimates by Transparency International, based on market prices, suggest that for 15 days of campaigning, parties end up spending at least 1,5 million euros.

A recent report by the state auditor said most parties in 2004 buried the true costs of their election campaigns.

It said parties did not allow inspection of bank accounts, bookkeeping was irregular and bank accounts were opened improperly.

The main anti-sleaze body, the State Anticorruption Commission, has no real oversight over party funding. It receives parties' financial reports but lacks powers to trace and explore the origin and path of questionable funds.

Slagjana Taseva, of the anti-corruption commission, said, "If we had control mechanisms, we could act to prevent such cases."

As an example of the kind of abuses they want to stop, experts cite such practises as the financing by parties of new roads during campaigns or the renovation of buildings.

"The current solution encourages parties to remain in a 'grey' zone," explained Aleksandar Cvetkov, president of AGTIS, a non-governmental organisation that monitors reform. "They can't admit the real amount of money they have at their disposal because of the limits."

Renata Deskovska, a law professor, said an entirely new body might need to be set up to monitor election expenses, in order to "be aware of the amount of money spent on campaigns, determine its origin and ensure the names of all donors are made public".

Reformers are concerned about large donations that parties receive for campaigns from powerful businessmen, who then expect favours in return.

Cvetkov told Balkan Insight that oligarchs support parties to buy protection from the police and the courts. "They finance to hinder the reforms, to prevent the establishment of market economy with fair play… They are not competitive on the market without political or legal protection," he explained.

"It's no secret that they expect something in return in the form of benefits, privileges and tenders," said Deskovska, adding, "We need to determine a realistic limit on spending, as it's an illusion to believe 15 denars per voter is sufficient for a campaign."

Taseva agreed. "It is well known that after elections, the companies or persons close to the ruling parties get deals," she said.

"It's political corruption, manifested in such acts as the adoption of laws or regulations to suit the needs of those who invested in the campaigns," she added.

So far, no party in Macedonia has ever been penalised for exceeding campaign spending limits.

"The array of sanctions is broad but the problem is whether we are willing to implement them," Taseva said.

"We need to determine rules, and then if someone doesn't respect them, impose sanctions," she added.

The parties themselves are mostly reluctant to accept that it's time to change the rules on campaign funding.

"We don't need to spend a million euros because we don't plan to broadcast videos on A1 TV," said Agron Buxhaku, of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Party for Integration, DUI.

"We stick to the budget and don't need expensive campaigns," he added.

Nikola Kjurciev, of the Social Democrats, SDSM, agreed. He said his party stuck to the current guidelines, as most election work was done by party members for free.

However, Trajko Veljanovski, of VMRO - DPMNE, admitted that change was now long overdue in the arena of election expenses.

"The [current] solution is rooted in the past and circumstances show the [400,000 euro] amount is not sufficient for a larger political party," he said.

"A higher limit for election expenditures needs to be set."

Nevena Angelovska is a regular Balkan Insight contributor. Balkan Insight is BIRN's internet publication.

Source: Balkan Investigative Reporting Network