AUDIT REPORT REVEALS MASSIVE VIOLATIONS: MAYORS AND PARTY LEADERS FINED OVER 216,000 BGN

More than 216,000 BGN in fines were imposed by the National Audit Office for the first seven months of the year, an official report from the auditing institution reveals. The violations are related to the Public Procurement Act and the Election Code, and those sanctioned include mayors of municipalities, heads of state agencies, and representatives of political parties.

Systemic Problem with Public Procurement

The auditors report that the main portion of the fines, amounting to 177,290 BGN, were imposed for violations of the Public Procurement Act. During the period under review, 78 acts for establishing administrative violations were drawn up, and for 60 of them, the President of the National Audit Office, in his role as an administrative sanctioning body, has already ruled. As a result, 33 penal decrees, 21 warnings, and other acts have been issued.

Among those seriously sanctioned are mayors of five municipalities, heads of three agencies, one regulatory body, one secondary budget spending unit, and the head of a territorial unit of a public institution. In some cases, multiple violations by the same individuals were found, leading to the issuance of more than one penal decree.

The National Audit Office notes that the sanctions are a result of a thorough audit but emphasizes that some of the decrees are in the process of being appealed in court, while others have not yet been served. For this reason, the names of the individuals on whom fines have been imposed cannot be disclosed at this stage, preserving their anonymity in accordance with legal provisions.

The established violations of the Public Procurement Act are diverse and affect key stages of the process. On one hand, auditors have detected cases in which the requirements of public procurement gave an unjustified advantage to certain economic entities or improperly restricted competition. On the other hand, serious shortcomings were found in the methods for evaluating bids. Indicators were used that did not allow for an objective comparison of proposals and did not provide participants with sufficient information on how they would be evaluated. These practices undermine the principles of transparency and equality enshrined in the legislation.

The auditors also found cases in which contracting authorities completely ignored the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, despite the explicit grounds for its application. According to the institution, some of these violations are a result of poor forecasting and planning of needs. Another common problem is the failure to meet the legal deadline for publishing information in the Public Procurement Register, which further reduces transparency.

Fines for Financial Violations in Parties and Coalitions

The National Audit Office report also reveals serious violations of the Election Code, for which eight acts were drawn up. Based on these acts, which identify multiple violations, the President of the Office has issued a total of 14 final acts. They are aimed at representatives of various participants in elections.

The fines imposed for these violations amount to 39,000 BGN. Thirteen penal decrees and 8 warnings have been issued to individuals representing parties and coalitions. Of these, two penal decrees were issued to representatives of political parties, and 11 to representatives of coalitions. The National Audit Office specifies that one of the sanctioned coalitions is represented in parliament, which underscores the significance of the identified shortcomings.

The violations are related to the lack of information that is mandatory to enter in the Uniform Register under the Election Code. Some of the acts were drawn up for failure to provide the names of donors, as well as the type, purpose, and value of the donations. The auditors also found shortcomings in providing information about the origin of funds of candidates and members of initiative committees. A serious problem is also the lack of data for sociological, advertising, and PR agencies with which parties and coalitions work.

In addition, the National Audit Office has also drawn up one act under the Political Parties Act related to the failure to submit a financial report and a declaration of donations from one party. As of the report, the act is still in the process of being served, which is the next step before a potential sanction is imposed.