MANS EXPOSES: How Political Parties in Montenegro Hide Millions from Citizens
Did you know that political parties in Montenegro are playing a dirty game with your money? MANS, a network for the affirmation of the NGO sector, has released a shocking analysis of the transparency of political party finances from 2018 to 2022. The results are devastating and raise serious concerns about democracy and accountability in the country.
Who are the transparency heroes? At the top of the transparency list are the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Civic Movement URA, Albanian Alternative, Bosniak Party (BS), and Democratic People’s Party (DNP). These parties publish between 91% and 99% of their financial data, allowing citizens to see how funds from public sources are spent.
And who is hiding? On the other side, there are parties that pretend to be transparent but publish only about 50% of data. Among them are the Europe Now Movement (PES) and Socialist People’s Party (SNP). But the real drama begins with parties that hardly publish any financial data. The New Serbian Democracy hides almost two-thirds of information, DPS publishes only 1%, and Social Democrats of Montenegro (SDCG) have not published a single data point despite legal obligations and court rulings.
Millions in the fog In total, the ten largest parties reported about 39 million euros in income during the observed period. But only half of that amount is publicly available! Regarding expenses, out of nearly 38 million euros, detailed data is available for only 40% of costs. This means citizens have no real insight into how their money is spent, raising serious questions about legality and accountability.
How did MANS get this data? MANS used the Law on Free Access to Information and requested bank statements and cash reports from political parties. Based on that, they calculated the transparency percentage as the ratio between reported income and expenses and actual data from bank statements. The result? A clear picture of how open and responsible parties are towards citizens.
Why does this matter? Without full transparency, citizens are blind to how public funds are used. This is not just a problem in Montenegro but in every democratic country. When parties hide finances, it opens the door to corruption, abuse, and loss of trust in the political system.
Call to action MANS has once again called on all political entities to be fully transparent. Citizens deserve to know where their money goes and to have the ability to control party financing. If you think this is just another boring money story, think again – because it’s your money at stake!
So, what do you think? Are political parties in Montenegro truly transparent, or is this just the tip of the iceberg? Share your thoughts, drop a sarcastic comment, or just laugh – but don’t stay silent while millions are hidden from you!
