{"id":39842,"date":"2024-12-03T21:11:36","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T19:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/?p=39842"},"modified":"2024-12-04T22:46:19","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T20:46:19","slug":"party-funds-database-sns-the-financially-strongest-political-party-in-serbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/party-funds-database-sns-the-financially-strongest-political-party-in-serbia\/","title":{"rendered":"Party Funds Database: SNS, the Financially Strongest Political Party in Serbia"},"content":{"rendered":"

After over a decade in power and a series of convincing election victories, the Serbian Progressive Party<\/em> (SNS) has become the financially strongest political party in Serbia. For example, it could have financed the usual operating costs of 38 other parties and citizens’ groups over the past nine years using solely the budget funds it received for its regular operations and still have some spare change left.<\/p>

Data from CINS’s Party Funds database<\/a>, which includes all income and expenses of political parties from 2015 to the end of 2023, reveal that during this period, SNS received approximately 49.2 million EUR from the budget for regular operations, while other parties spent about 46.5 million EUR for the same purpose. The remaining 38 parties and citizens’ groups include those that form the ruling majority alongside SNS, such as the Socialist Party of Serbia<\/em> (SPS). This means that if one were to compare the finances of the parties in the ruling coalition with those of the opposition, the gap would be even larger.<\/p>

Out of the 40 major parties and citizens’ groups in the database, one has never spent money on regular operations \u2013 the citizens’ group gathered around Vuk Jeremi\u0107<\/strong> in 2017.<\/p>

In general, parties receive money to finance their regular operations only if they pass the electoral threshold and win seats in a local, provincial, or the national assembly. Election results determine the amount of money they receive, with distribution based on the number of votes they secure.<\/p>

Thanks to its electoral results, SNS managed to secure its financial dominance. This financial superiority has, among other things, enabled the party to purchase real estate in Serbia worth approximately 1.9 million EUR, as reported by CINS in 2021. These properties not only serve the party’s needs but are also valuable because they can be used as collateral for loans, or they can be rented out or sold.<\/p>

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Serbian Progressive Party: from Being a Tenant to Owning Real Estate Worth Millions<\/a>
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We also wrote about how the Serbian Progressive Party<\/em> amended the Law on Financing Political Activities in 2014, allowing the use of funds intended for regular operation accounts for electoral purposes. As Nemanja Nenadi\u0107<\/strong> from the organization Transparency Serbia<\/em> told CINS at the time, these changes apply to all parties, but their effect is most noticeable in the example of SNS.<\/p>

“They probably used this the most because they have the most MPs, which allowed them to transfer the largest amounts,” says Nenadi\u0107.<\/p>

Lawyer Vladimir Tupanjac<\/strong>, who previously worked in the Sector for Monitoring the Financing of Political Activities at the Anti-Corruption Agency<\/em>, says this demonstrates that there is no equality in political life in Serbia.<\/p>

\u201cGiven that ideas and ideologies have certainly disappeared, I think it can be said that those who have more money win elections.\u201d<\/p>

“Wealthiest” list<\/h2>

In addition to budget funds for regular operations, political parties also receive funding for election campaigns. They can also raise money independently from other sources, such as donations from individuals and legal entities, membership fees, property rentals, or so-called “other” income, which includes anything not fitting into the aforementioned categories. This income may come from interest, property sales, or the recovery of legal costs following court proceedings.<\/p>

Based on all these sources, the Serbian Progressive Party<\/em> (SNS) generated a total revenue<\/a> of approximately 76.1 million EUR over nine years, of which around 68.1 million EUR came from the state budget. The remainder mainly came from donations, about whose questionable legality CINS has previously reported.<\/p>

The Socialist Party of Serbia<\/em> (SPS) ranks second in revenue<\/a>. Between 2015 and the end of 2023, it generated around 25.7 million EUR in income. The difference between budget funds and other income is smaller than in SNS\u2019s case. SPS received about 13.3 million EUR from the budget and an additional 12.4 million EUR from citizens, property rentals, and other sources. CINS has reported that SPS inherited a significant number of properties across Serbia, earning approximately 3.8 million EUR from renting them over the past nine years.<\/p>

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SPS\u2019s Millions: Inheritance from Communist Times Bringing in Budget Funds<\/a>
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Testimonies of Fake SNS Donors<\/a>
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Some of their “tenants” include public institutions, which experts that spoke to CINS consider unacceptable, viewing it as yet another way for the party to extract funds from the budget.<\/p>

All other political actors lag far behind these two parties in terms of revenue.<\/p>