Billboard with the presidential and local candidates.
A local giving his vote.
Black suitcases and blue envelops main source for election campaigns
Macedonian political parties are financed from suspicious funds with unknown origin.
By Meri Jordanovska and Ivana Kostovska
Posted on September 17, 2009
SCOOP's investigation of the financing of political parties in the election campaigns has shown that names of high officials can be found on the lists of the parties' donors, published by the State Election Commission after the last presidential and local elections held in March 2009. Also the lists contained names of the farmers who have received monetary help from the state as well as names of wives and daughters of the presidential candidates, ministers or other individuals claiming that they were not donors.
This was the case with the president of the Student’s Association of the state University “St. Cyril and Methodius”, who, together with his mother and sister, has provided almost 10.000 euros in the campaign of the ruling party, VMRO- DPMNE.
The businessmen are giving money because they are aware that the party which comes to power will "reimburse" their "favor". Before any elections, the members of parliament, ministers and others who have became high officials due to parties' privileges, donate their salaries.
The experts appeal that the authorities must check the origin of the money which enters the parties, while the Anticorruption comission is claiming that it is not easy to discover the trace of illegal sources of financing.
The story was published in the Macedonian daily "Nova Makedonija" in three parts 28.05.2009; 29.05.2009 and 30.09.2009.
To read the whole story in English, please click on the link below.
