During the campaigns leading up to the October 20 local elections in Moldova, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) detected several irregularities in the financial reports the parties submitted. According to the CEC, information was found on donors to the Democratic Party, Partidul Nostru, the Shor Party and the ACUM Bloc, who, having no source of income or social allowances, made large donations to the parties. 

The ACUM Bloc constituents – Prime Minister Maia Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party and the Dignity and Truth Platform Party – received donations that exceeded the cap, as well as contributions from a company that benefited from a public procurement contract for the last three years.

However, the ACUM Bloc did not top the list in terms of campaign spending. The Socialist Party (PSRM) spent around 253,000 euros (4.9 million lei), leading in terms of expenditure. “Our Party” (Partidul Nostru), which invested around 237,000 euros (4.6 million lei) in the campaign, holds second place, though it failed to obtain many mayoral mandates. The Shor Party came in third, spending around 211,500 euros (4.1 million lei).

The Democratic Party with fewer donations than ever before

Formerly led by Moldova’s richest oligarch Vlad Plahotnicu, the Democratic Party (PDM) recently came under the leadership of former Prime Minister Pavel Filip. Having suffered a defeat after the ousting of the PDM Government and flight of party leader Vlad Plahotniuc in June 2019, the PDM had “modest expenses and donations” during the recent local elections. 

According to the financial reports submitted to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the party spent about 82,500 euros (1.6 million lei) on local elections. Of this amount, only 67,000 euros (1.3 million) went to publicity materials (like posters, flags and flyers). The Democratic Party spent around 15,000 euros (292,000 lei) on advertising (television, radio etc.) during this election cycle. By comparison, ahead of the February 24, 2019  parliamentary elections, the PDM spent over €1.5 million (30 million lei), of which around €1.3 million (26 million lei) was directed towards advertising.

The Democratic Party collected just 4,600 euros (91,000 lei) in donations, a smaller amount compared to the donations received in past years. During the 2015 local elections, for example, the Democrats collected around 6,100 euros (120,000 lei) in donations.

What’s more, unlike during previous elections where the Democrats listed the names of hundreds of donors in their financial reports, this time, the list included just nine people. Among them was one Democratic Deputy, Efrosinia Grețu, and the Democrat mayor of the Greblești commune in Moldova’s Strășeni district, Aliona Chircu.

When asked to give an explanation for the fall in donations, PDM President Pavel Filip said the party has been through a crisis. 

“The political life in Moldova has shown that an opposition party is not as attractive to donors as a ruling party. The PDM is no exception. The party has gone through a crisis and it is natural that, especially under the pressure and blackmailing of the present government, the number of those who want to contribute financially to the party is declining,” Filip explained.

However, he also said that the Party is undergoing changes.

“We are currently engaged in a process of resetting the party, a process we have been working on for several weeks now. By the way, this process will include changes regarding how the party is funded. And I am sure that when we have this vision defined and implemented, we will get an authentic political structure. Then we will become more attractive to both members and donors,” Filip said.

During the October 20 local elections Democratic Party mayors won the elections for 192 town halls, which is 47 more than in 2015.  This places them higher than all other parties in the first round of voting.

Socialist Party – expenditure leader in the election campaign

The Socialist Party – part of the current governing coalition along with the ACUM Bloc – won 124 local halls during the elections on October 20.

The Socialist Party (PSRM) invested almost 258,000 euros (5 million lei) in this campaign, but in the first round of elections they won in fewer local halls than the Democratic Party.

The majority of PSRM funds, around 165,000 euros (3.2 million lei), were spent on advertising, with around 77,400 euros (1.5 million lei) going to television, around 34,400 euros (668,000 lei) to radio, and around 22,700 euros (440,000 lei) used for billboards. The publicity materials cost almost 24,600 euros (477,000 lei) and over 56,700 euros (1.1 million lei) went to the organization of meetings and electoral events.

Despite leading in expenditure during the campaigns, the Socialists did not have any donations during this cycle. According to a draft decision the Central Election Committee (CEC) adopted on October 22, 2019, the Socialist Party will be issued a warning because it did not  present information about the opening or re-opening of the “Electoral Fund” account, in order to offer more information about the origin of its funds. 

Salespersons, the unemployed and pensioners – the Shor Party sponsors

Despite the fact that Moldova’s authorities have announced an international search for leader of the Shor Party, Ilan Shor, on embezzlement charges, his party ran its electoral campaign without hindrance.

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According to their financial reports, the party declared that it obtained over 211,500 euros (4.1 million lei) in donations from an impressive list of donors that included hundreds of people, giving cash donations ranging from 25 to 1,000 euros (500 to 20,000 lei). 

In an attempt to establish a donor profile, ZDG noted that the majority of Shor Party sponsors are listed as unemployed, pensioners and salespeople. For example, in the sixth week of the campaign alone, 170 people made donations to the Shor Party, including 38 unemployed, 27 retired, 20 salespeople and 14 directors. Some pensioners donated just  a few hundred lei to the Shor Party, while others contributed amounts ranging from 258 to 516 euros (5,000 to 10,000 lei).

According to the same report, the Party account was supplemented with 31 donations of 1,000 euros (20,000 lei) each. The most generous donors were 13 salespeople, nine engineers, three managers, three directors, one video editor, one department head and one person working abroad. 

The majority of the donations 160,000 euros (3.1 million lei), were spent on advertising, while 33,600 euros (653,000 lei) was spent on promotional materials. Nevertheless, although the party invested around 206,000 euros (4 million lei) in the election campaign, according to the results of the first round, the political party managed to win in only 13 village/town halls. 

The Central Electoral Commission and the National House of Social Insurance have identified some Shor Party donors who reported pensions and allowances as their income source, but in fact have not received any state funds. Thus, the Central Electoral Commission will notify the General Prosecutor’s Office and request the verification of the income sources of the respective donors.  

More deputies among the ACUM Bloc donors

The ACUM Bloc is composed of the Dignity and Truth Platphorm Party led by Andrei Năstase (who is currently running for Mayor of Chișinău) and the Action and Solidarity Party led by current Prime Minister Maia Sandu. The ACUM Bloc is also part of the ruling coalition, along with the PSRM). 

The ACUM Bloc received 124,000 euros (2.4 million lei) in donations, an amount that was spent almost entirely during the election campaign. According to the financial reports submitted to the Central Electoral Commission, the ACUM Bloc spent around 62,000 euros (1.2 million lei) on advertising and 43,400 euros (842,000 lei) on promotional materials. The rest of the financial resources were spent on organizing electoral meetings, transport services and other expenses. 

ZDG found several deputies on the list of ACUM Bloc donors,including the President of the Inquiry Commission for the Billion Theft, Alexandru Slusari, who donated around 1,000 euros (20,000 lei), Liviu Vovc –  around 413 euros (8 000 lei) and Arina Spătaru – around 155 euros (3 000 lei). Andrei Năstase contributed a donation of 1,238 euros (24,000 lei), offered in the form of online sponsorships. The deputy Mihai Popșoi made a similar donation of around 413 euros (8,000 lei).

One of the largest donations made to the ACUM Bloc came from Aliona Mandatii, the Vice-President of the Dignity and Truth Platform, who, following the local elections on October 20, will become a municipal councillor in Chișinău. Through the two companies she owns, Domulterra SRL and Edit-Prom SRL, Mandatii made donations of 14,602 euros (283,000 lei), an amount that exceeds the cap of 12 average monthly salaries as established for that year. Consequently, the representatives of the ACUM Bloc were forced to reimburse about 5,900 euros (116,000 lei) to the companies. Cătălin Mandatii, the entrepreneur’s son, contributed around 1,600 euros (32,000 lei) through the company SC KA-Grup SRL.

On July 31, the MPs adopted new transparency procedures for financing political parties. Henceforth, donations from individuals to one or more political party in a financial year cannot exceed an amount equivalent to six average monthly salaries established for that year.

For Moldovan citizens with incomes from outside of the country, this amount cannot exceed an amount equivalent to three average monthly salaries established for that year. At the same time, employees of state institutions will not be allowed to finance parties or electoral campaigns with amounts that exceed ten percent of their income.

What’s more, companies that have or will have state contracts (for a period of up to three years) will no longer be able to finance political parties. Other amendments aim to reduce the maximum ceiling on the costs of electoral campaigns and the exclusion from the race of parties that do not respect the gender quota (40 percent).