How Political Parties are Financed

Privileges and Equality

AIM Banja Luka, 11 September, 1998

Monetary aid to political parties before these elections was concealed from the public for a long time, and a few times even denied by representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In the end, after much criticism and interventions in the end of July, the OSCE admitted that 2.2 million dolars were spent on the elections in B&H as "non-monetary aid" to political parties.

About 500 thousand dollars were spent for provision of equal access of political parties to media, about 750 thousand were spent for equal aid to all political parties, coalitions and independent candidates through printing election brochures containg election platforms of participants in the elections, formation of centres for support to parties and other forms of aid.

The subject of criticism are 750 thousand dollars spent, according to the statement of OSCE, in B&H on "priority monetary aid for certain political parties, coalitions and independent candidates who support multiethnicity". The choice was made on the basis of platforms which they were obliged to submit when registering for the elections, and political legal foundation was found in Bonn Declaration and rules and regulations of the Interim Election Committee of the OSCE for the elections in B&H in 1998. According to the OSCE, criteria for allocation of money to political parties are support to Annex 7 of the Dayton accords, intensifying multiethnic relations, support to the multiethnic state of B&H, composition of the leadership and list of candidates, as well as adherence to democratic principles, which, according to the OSCE, includes tolerance.

Although many parties in RS denied that they have received money, first Jovo Mitrovic from the Serb National Union (SNS), who is also vice chairman of the national assembly of RS, confirmed that SNS of Biljana Plavsic received aid of 50 thousand German marks. In this way he also confirmed the authenticity of the data which leaked in public and according to which the Party of Independent Social Democrats received 150 thousand marks, the Socialist Party of RS 100 thousand marks, the Social Liberal and Peasants' Party 30 thousand German marks each, and the Democratic Party (Bijeljina) and the Party of Democratic Centre from Trebinje 20 thousand marks each.

In the Federation of B&H, the Social Democratic Party received 200 thousand marks, the Social Democrats of B&H (or as it was stated "the former UBSD") 120 thousand marks, New Croat Initiative 100 thousand, Croat Peasants' Party 50 thousand marks, Bosnian Party (BOSS) 30 thousand marks and the Party of the Citizens of Drvar of Mile Marceta 20 thousand marks. The Muslim Bosniac Organization, the Liberal Bosniac Organization, the Republican Party, the Liberal Social Party, the Croat Christian Democratic Union, the Croat National Community, the Party of Economic Prosperity, independent candidate Zdravko Grebo and the Croat Peasants' Liberal Party received 10 thousand German marks each.

It is stressed that this aid was not in money and that it mostly consisted of printing material for propaganda and similar things. A "guarantee" fund amounting to between 300 and 500 thousand German marks planned as additional aid to those who would conduct a campaign in satisafctory manner has remained unspent.

The OSCE has clearly said who it gave preference to and who it bet on in the future. Results of previous elections were completely unimportant. For example, even the Social Libral Party of Miodrag Zivanovic was among the "prizewinners", although it has never managed to win a single seat in the parliament in any municipality in Republika Srpska.

Although one of the criteria for allocation of aid was success in last year's local elections, among the recipients of a considerable sum of money was the Serb National Union of Biljana Plavsic which had not even participated in them, because it had just been founded and was not even registered for the elections.

Parties from Republika Srpska, which are mostly characterized as national and even nationalistic ones and which did not receive any aid, used this to make some political points by stressing that there were those who were favoured. They criticized the OSCE the most accusing it for bias and "political engineering", for making "election before elections". Pointing out that it was unnatural for anybody to be privileged in a democratic process which implies equality in its very approach, they openly expressed doubt that the elections were democratic and that they were conducted under equal conditions and they used this situation to indicate the moves that the international community would make and forces it would support in the political process going on in RS.

Parties which have received aid at first concealed this fact, just as the OSCE did, probably aware of the unpopularity of being supported by the international community and that this could have a negative influence on the number of votes. Power won in this manner, according to the prevailing opinion, could be considered to be quisling and collaborationist.

Nevertheless, the fact that some parties were supported with not much, but not insignificant sums of money, clearly speaks of the objectives the international community in Bosnia & Herzegovina wishes to achieve. The elections are the opportunity to assess to what extent their evaluations were good and what the material stimulation actually meant in winning votes, or rather whether the achieved results corresponded to the investment.

Dejan Novakovic

(AIM)