Investigation Agency Discovers 450 Cases Regarding Violations During Election Campaign Period
In the lead-up to Latvia's upcoming elections, political parties have reported spending a total of more than €2 million in limited pre-election campaigning. However, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has not disclosed the exact amount spent on online advertising.
According to KNAB representative Raituma, the bureau has launched 450 investigations and initiated 35 administrative proceedings for pre-election campaign violations. The majority of these violations relate to the illegal use of administrative resources, hidden campaigning, and unmarked circulation of party materials.
Raituma has also suggested discussing whether the campaign spending limit should be reduced or if other expenditure items should be included in the limit. The KNAB sees problems with the current campaign spending limits, which it considers too high.
One-third of unlimited campaign expenditure is spent directly on the production of campaign materials. The most significant spending was on outdoor advertising, amounting to nearly 900,000 euros, followed by radio advertising, with spending around 500,000 euros. Press advertising spending was approximately 300,000 euros.
Raituma has emphasized the importance of improving the regulatory framework for online content, given the increasing role of digital platforms in political campaigning. The KNAB has suggested mandatory disclosure of online political ads, inclusion of third parties in campaign finance regulation, digital skills for oversight bodies, and empowering civil society watchdogs.
Parties should be required to provide more detailed breakdowns of their expenses and declare contractual obligations before elections, as suggested by the KNAB. The maximum penalty for party violations of campaign restrictions is currently €2,000, but the KNAB has proposed increasing this up to €7,000.
It is essential to note that the search results do not contain any specific information about proposed changes to the regulatory framework for political campaign financing in Latvia or any other country as suggested by KNAB representative Raituma. If you have access to more precise or direct sources (such as official statements, press releases, or recent interviews), those would be needed to answer your question fully.
Raituma described the number of investigations launched as 450, stating it had doubled in the last month. The distribution of pre-election campaign materials is prohibited on June 6 and 7. However, Raituma stated that these violations are a "very old restriction" and should not exist, but they still do.
[1] International Summary on Political Campaign Finance Regulations Adapting to Digital Platforms (Source)
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