Skopje, 30 August 2024 (MIA) – The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (DKSK) has prepared a report on the state of affairs regarding the financing of the May parliamentary election campaign in order to inform the Parliament and the public.

In the report, the anti-corruption commission notes that as regards the legal obligation to send information about the official vehicles of the institutions, a low level of realization of this legal obligation was detected - below 50 percent.

“We also concluded that there is no normative solution allowing DKSK to sanction, which decreases the opportunity to prevent misuse of official vehicles during election campaign. With the aim to increase transparency, the Commission has publicly revealed all the institutions that failed to send information within the deadline,” said DKSK.

Of the total sources for financing of the election campaign, estimated at 385,022,129 denars, 64 percent are funds from the state budget. DKSK calls for its annulment noting the risk of corruption and future interference of the political parties in the editorial management of media outlets. 

“We noted the State Election Commission paid only 3 percent of the overall obligation for paid political advertisement," said the anti-corruption commission.

In connection to the 2024 elections, DKSK formed 65 cases after it received reports about suspicion of violation of the electoral code and the law on prevention of corruption and conflict of interests. 

The Commission said it launched six initiatives for prosecution and four initiatives to the relevant bodies to open a process to determine the accountability of officials. 

As regards the legal obligation for filing of reports, DKSK identified four participants in the election process that are yet to file financial reports. Also, it said, the number of legal entities tasked with paid political advertising dropped drastically, which, as DKSK said, undermines the process of transparency of the elections campaign and diminishes trust in the election process. 

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