Bulgaria Ethnic Turkish Party Top Spender in EU Elections Campaign

The DPS party led by Ahmed Dogan is the top spender on Bulgaria's EU Elections. Photo by BGNES

The leading Bulgarian political parties have spent about BGN 10 M in total in their campaigns for the European Parliament Elections, which took place on June 7, 2009.

This has become clear from data released Wednesday by the National Audit Office.

The GERB party, which won the polls electing 5 MEPs, spent BGN 442 000 - exactly the amount it raised through donations and mortgaging property of members of its leadership.

The Bulgarian Socialist party, which elected 4 MEPs, spent BGN 1,516 M; it got BGN 1,392 M from a state subsidy, BGN 60 000 from donations, and BGN 66 000 from its own funds.

The ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), which got 3 MEPs, spent the most of all parties - BGN 1,932 M; of these, BGN 1,4 came from a state subsidy, and BGN 533 000 - from its own funds.

The nationalist "Ataka" party spent about as much money as it raised - BGN 310 000; it elected 2 MEPs.

The rightist Blue Coalition, which elected 1 MEP, spent BGN 1,056 M; 623 000 came from donations, and the rest came from a state subsidy.

The conservative RZS party and the LIDER party of energy tycoon Kovachki failed to elect any MEPs but made sizable spending.

RZS spend BGN 895 000; it got BGN 750 000 from donations and own funds. The LIDER party spent BGN 1,118 M; it received BGN 1,019 M from donations, and the rest of the funds came from its coalition partner, Novote Vreme (the New Time).

 

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