{"id":37964,"date":"2024-04-23T10:46:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T08:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/?p=37964"},"modified":"2024-04-25T10:55:08","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T08:55:08","slug":"election-gambling-pink-and-happy-wrote-off-serbian-radical-partys-multi-million-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/election-gambling-pink-and-happy-wrote-off-serbian-radical-partys-multi-million-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Election Gambling: Pink and Happy Wrote Off Serbian Radical Party\u2019s Multi-Million Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Year and a half after his return from The Hague, Serbian Radical Party<\/em> (SRS) leader Vojislav \u0160e\u0161elj<\/strong> was spearheading his party into yet another parliamentary election. It was 2016, and \u0160e\u0161elj was vying for the position of prime minister. Pink<\/em> and Happy<\/em> aired the party\u2019s campaign ad that urged people to \u201cvote for \u0160e\u0161elj and put Serbia back in safe hands\u201d.<\/p>

The total bill for advertising on these two TV stations exceeded 62 million RSD. The Serbian Radical Party<\/em> hardly paid any of it.<\/p>

In addition, they did not pay for advertisements on Pink<\/em> during the 2017 presidential elections and 2018 Belgrade elections, meaning that their debt went up to roughly 100 million RSD.<\/p>

The Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia<\/em> (CINS) can reveal that this debt was never paid. Instead, Pink<\/em> and Happy<\/em> wrote it off, effectively donating money to the radicals. The Anti-Corruption Agency<\/em> subsequently initiated proceedings against the two TV stations.<\/p>

Over the past eight years, the radicals have “spent” 173 million RSD more than they actually had by using this method during parliamentary, presidential, and Belgrade electoral campaigns.<\/p>

Vojislav \u0160e\u0161elj tells CINS that when there is money in their account, they pay their debts.<\/p>

“Since we had nothing to pay back with, maybe God will repay them someday.”<\/p>

CINS\u2019s investigation reveals that the current system of financing political activities leads to a lack of transparency, secret donations, and favoritism toward certain parties. The changes proposed by the government could worsen the situation even further and cause millions in damages to the budget.<\/p>

Nemanja Nenadi\u0107<\/strong> from Transparency Serbia <\/em>says that the proposed changes do not address some of the more significant problems in party financing.<\/p>

\u201cNot only do these amendments not tackle the issue of financial inequality among electoral campaign participants, but they also pave the way for damaging the budget.\u201d<\/p>

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Election Gambling<\/h2>

All parties participating in the elections receive funds from the budget to finance their campaigns. First, they deposit a security or guarantee, and then receive just 40% of the total amount after the Republic Electoral Commission<\/em> declares their list valid. If they exceed the electoral threshold, they receive the remaining funds based on the number of seats won. If they do not win at least 1% of the votes (0.2% for minority lists), they must pay back the initial 40% they received.<\/p>

According to lawyer Vladimir Tupanjac<\/strong>, this forces most election participants to \u201cgamble\u201d every election cycle because they are unsure of how much money they will ultimately receive.<\/p>

\u201cThat is a real problem here, it\u2019s a real gamble.\u201d<\/p>

Judging by the debts they leave behind, some parties exceed their spending potential because the consequences of such behavior are practically non-existent.<\/p>

TV advertising debts, for example, are not uncommon.<\/p>

For instance, the coalition gathered around Boris Tadi\u0107<\/strong> ended up owing Pink<\/em> nearly 9 million RSD in 2022, and 4.5 million RSD to Happy<\/em>. They also had unpaid debts to Nina Media Clipping<\/em>, to whom the party owed around 100,000 RSD.<\/p>

The Social Democratic Party<\/em> told CINS that there are still certain debts outstanding and that they will be settled \u201cas soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>

On the other hand, Vojislav \u0160e\u0161elj says that they all share the risk that the party may not exceed the electoral threshold.<\/p>

\u201cWhen we made the contract with them [TV stations], our calculation was that we would definitely pass the threshold. However, when we didn\u2019t pass the threshold \u2013 how could we pay them? It’s impossible.\u201d<\/p>