Socialist Party, Funds and Expenditure, 2021 Election Campaign

Open Data Albania is examining funding and spending, during the 2021 Election Campaign, of the electoral subject Socialist Party, SP.

During the campaign for the general elections, the Socialist Party declared a total amount of 176 538 087 ALL in funds, whereas only 137 882 751 ALL of it was declared as expenditure, resulting in surplus of 38 655 336 ALL. Meanwhile, the amount spent by the SP candidates is 34 163 861 ALL. The total expenditures of the Socialist Party and its candidates during said election amounted to 172 046 612 ALL.

Table: Socialist Party Funds and Expenditures, 2021 Election Campaign
Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Based on Article 86 of the Electoral Code, Political Parties can receive funding from 4 sources: Budget Funds; Party-generated Income; Gifts in monetary value, in kind or services provided under Article 92/1 of the Electoral Code and Loans, received from Political Parties or candidates based on the law.

The Socialist Party has received funds in the amount of 55 826 750 ALL from the State Budget, comprising a share of 31.62% of its total revenues, during the 2021 election campaign. The revenues generated by the party itself, constitute the largest income with 76 980 834 ALL . This amount accounts for 43.61% of the total fund. The remaining proceeds of party-generated funds, 25 839 161 ALL, came from the contributions in the form of membership quotas.

Table: Socialist Party Revenue Structure, 2021 Election Campaign
Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Income from natural persons for the benefit of the Socialist Party, during the Parliamentary elections of April 25, 2021, are stated in the amount of 5 101 905 ALL, where 80.4% are in-kind donations and the rest in monetary value. Included here are only private donations to the party, excluding donations towards party candidates.

Table: Socialist Party private donations, 2021 Election Campaign
Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

The expenditures, along with the candidates, are in the amount of 172 046 612 ALL. The latter goes against Article 92/2, point 4 of the Electoral Code, which states that the total value of the political entity’s expenditure, jointly with its candidates, should not exeed the amount benefitted from the state budget more than 3 times, during Election campaigns. In this case, the limit that should not have exceeded is 167 480 250 ALL (55,826,750 * 3).

The main item of expenditures for the 2021 general elections was the Media, with 50 470 701 ALL dedicated. It constitutes 36.6% of the total expenditures of the Socialist party (without candidates). A relatively large part of it was allocated for the use of social media, with 7.77% of the total fund spent or 10,707,609 ALL. Instead, another 35 687 358 ALL or 26% of the total, were spent for campaign activities / rallies.

Table: Expenditure by item, SP, 2021 Election Campaign
Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Table: Party and candidates’ expenditures, SP, 2021 Election Campaign
Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Regarding the campaign spending statements in party district branches, it emerges that, overall, the largest expenditures were dedicated to the organization of activities (38.7% of the total fund), to promotional messages (21.73%) and for (renting) electoral offices.

Table: Expenditure by category in SP branches, 2021 Election Campaign
Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

The Socialist Party district branches carried out their own expenditues concerning the election campaign. Thus, the branch of the Socialist Party in Tirana, being the largest in the country, has incurred the largest portion of the expenditures, 15 810 841 ALL. The second in terms of the volume of expenditures, but not in terms of the number of voters, is the Vlora branch, followed by Fier, Elbasan, Durrës and Korçë.

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

The lowest expenses by the socialist majority were carried out by candidates in the districts of Durrës and Fier.

Table: District candidates expenditure per voter, SP, 2021 Election Campaign
Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

When we look at cases of donations for the benefit of the Socialist Party and its candidates, we notice that, contrary to other parties we examined, the banking transactions, ie the monetary donations, constitute about 83% of all donatons, while donation in kind compose the remaining 17%.

Table: Socialist Party and candidates’ donors, 2021 Election Campaign
Source: CEC Audit Report SP
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania

As we’ve illustrated in the beguinning of the article, the Socialist Party’s generated most of its revenue for the 2021 election campaign, with the majority deriving from membership quotas. The fund obtained from the State Budget was in the amount of 55 826 750 Lek or about 32% of the total funds raised. Whereas, most of its expenditures were didicated to the organization of activities and promotion in traditional and social media, with consultancies not far behind.

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Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania
Translated by: Rezarta Cushaj
Contributed by: Ilir Brasha