Debt-Ridden Bosnia Lavishes Cash on Political Parties

While ordinary people and investors are emigrating because of Bosnia's deepening political crisis and poor business environment, local political parties seem to be flourishing, thanks to steady and ample financial support from the state budget and from their membership fees.

"We [ordinary people] are sheep and we deserve to be sheared when we let them [politicians] do this to us," Luka, a 32-year old commercial salesman from northern town of Doboj told BIRN, reflecting on recent news about the lavish budgetary support that political parties enjoy.

His reaction was triggered by last week's announcement by Bosnia's Central Election Commission, CIK, which in its latest report said that during the last year, political parties had been given some 13 million euros.

The two main sources of their income are Bosnia's controversial law which provides most budgetary support for the functioning of country's biggest parties, plus the parties' own membership fees.

But some parties earn additional income from other sources, such as donations or renting out their office space and other real estate.

The CIK report, published on April 28, was compiled from data provided by 96 out of the 149 registered parties.

The remaining 53 parties failed to submit their data, but the law does not envisage any penalties in such cases.

This means that parties in Bosnia have probably received more than 13 million euros. 

The main source of revenues for most of these parties is taxpayers' money channelled through state, entity and cantonal budgets.

Officially the 'richest' party in Bosnia is the Social Democratic Party, SDP, although it has lost much of its old popularity in the two last election cycles and is now not a...