Dimitar Glavchev to the OSCE Mission: Full Transparency of Campaign Financing from the First Day of the Election Campaign

On the first day of the election campaign, the President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office, Dimitar Glavchev, briefed representatives of the OSCE mission (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) on the institution’s activities to ensure the transparency of the 19 April vote.

He informed David Gongadze, Legal Analyst with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Election Observation Mission, on the key deadlines for election participants related to the submission of documents to the Bulgarian National Audit Office.

„Today (20 March 2026), the Bulgarian National Audit Office opens the Single Public Register under the Election Code for participants in the 19 April elections. We expect them to submit the required information on time to ensure transparency in the financing of their election campaigns,” the President said.

Dimitar Glavchev explained that, under the Election Code, the Bulgarian National Audit Office is required to maintain the Single Public Register, which publishes information on election participants, the funds and donations they have received and continue to receive, the names of donors, declarations on the origin of the donated and provided funds for the election campaign, and information on the sociological, advertising and PR agencies with which they work.

The information is maintained and updated in the Register in real time, and every citizen may access it on the website of the Bulgarian National Audit Office.

“Over the years, this Register has been improved and further developed to facilitate the submission and publication of information,” Dimitar Glavchev said.

“The obliged persons who have a qualified electronic signature may upload the information to the Register themselves,” clarified Ekaterina Percheva, Director of the Specific Audits Directorate.

For the convenience of election participants, an electronic information brochure containing all the relevant dates, deadlines and obligations to be observed by parties, coalitions and nomination committees has been published on the website of the Bulgarian National Audit Office.

Key deadlines:

1. By 25 March (five days after the opening of the election campaign), all participants in the 19 April elections must submit initial information to the Bulgarian National Audit Office. This includes:

- information on donors and the amounts of donations;

- information on candidates and members of nomination committees who have provided funds, as well as the amounts provided;

- declarations on the origin of donated and provided funds;

- the names of the sociological, advertising and PR agencies with which they work.

The current templates of the declarations on the origin of donated/provided funds are available on the website of the Bulgarian National Audit Office, from where election participants may download them for submission.

2. Any new information concerning election participants must be submitted to the Bulgarian National Audit Office within seven days of the initial submission of information.

3. By 3 June (30 working days after election day), election participants must submit to the Bulgarian National Audit Office their reports on the revenues, expenditures and payment obligations incurred in connection with the election campaign.

4. By 18 June (15 days after the submission deadline), the Bulgarian National Audit Office will publish them on its website, together with all information on donors.

5. Within six months thereafter, the Bulgarian National Audit Office will carry out a compliance audit of the declared revenues and the expenditures incurred in connection with the election campaign where they exceed approximately EUR 511 (BGN 1,000). The audit report will also be published on the website of the institution.

At the meeting, David Gongadze asked whether election participants are subject to sanctions if they fail to disclose the required information or submit it late.

Dimitar Glavchev explained that if the delay is minor and occurs for the first time, the Bulgarian National Audit Office would first issue a warning. In more serious cases, a fine is imposed, ranging from a minimum of EUR 1,533.88 (BGN 3,000) to a maximum of EUR 7,669.28 (BGN 15,000). It is important to note that the sanction is imposed on the natural person – the leader of the party – rather than on the political party itself.

„Frequent elections have made political parties, particularly those represented in Parliament, more disciplined, and they are aware that any violation will result in sanctions. Violations are more common among occasional election participants, such as nomination committees, which lack experience,” the President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office explained.

In response to a question from David Gongadze as to whether legislative amendments are needed in connection with the oversight of election campaign financing by the Bulgarian National Audit Office, Dimitar Glavchev stated:  “The threshold of 511 euro (BGN 1,000) is laid down in the Election Code, adopted in 2014, and today it is already very low in terms of the cost-benefit ratio.” He compared it with the minimum wage in Bulgaria, which has tripled since 2014 to 620 euro. Even the minimum pension, at 322 euro, is close to this threshold. At the same time, these audits require considerable resources. Correspondence is exchanged with the National Revenue Agency and the National Social Security Institute regarding the income of donors who have donated more than 511 euro. In addition, the legislation requires all payments exceeding this threshold to be made exclusively by bank transfer. “In effect, we audit almost 100 per cent of election participants,” Ekaterina Percheva said.

Dimitar Glavchev also drew attention to another important deadline concerning political parties, which is not related to the election campaign:

The deadline for political parties to submit their 2025 annual financial statements to the Bulgarian National Audit Office expires on 31 March. Parties that fail to do so or submit the documents after the deadline are liable to a fine ranging from 2,556 euro to 5,112 euro. In addition, they lose their entitlement to the state subsidy, and this sanction remains in force until the next parliamentary elections.

By 15 April, the Bulgarian National Audit Office will publish the financial statements on its website. Within the following six months, it will carry out a compliance audit of the financial activities, revenues, expenditures and management of the property provided to political parties. The audit covers parties that, during the previous year, received a state subsidy, used state- or municipally-owned premises, and participated in elections. The audit report will also be published on the website of the Bulgarian National Audit Office.

*OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) is the world's largest regional security organisation, bringing together 57 participating States from Europe, Central Asia and North America. It addresses issues related to arms control, human rights, freedom of the media and election observation.