report nine months after the June 2020 elections) and, secondly, there is no obligation of interim reporting, i.e., financial reporting prior to election day. Although it is clear what would be the good effects of interim reporting (primarily in terms of the transparency of the entire process), clearly there are some objective challenges in implementing this solution due to the low capacity of political organisations and, more importantly, due to possible issues with verifying the submitted data. Of the 949 political organisations that participated One in five participants in the in the 2020 elections (336 political parties, 373 coalitions 2020 election did not submit and 203 citizens’ groups), 202 did not fulfil their basic financial reports in due time, duty of submitting financial reports in due time, two thirds of which are citizens’ meaning one in five participants in the election. The worst groups. The ACA pressed 144 landscape - a testimony to their poor capacities - is among misdemeanor charges. the citizens’ groups, where two thirds of the participants in the election did not comply with their legal duty. Following this, the ACA pressed 144 misdemeanor charges by the end of 2020, and four convictions were made (not final).63 The data indicates that citizens’ groups must be addressed with a number of activities with a view to raising their capacities in the election process. Table 4.1.2.6.1. Submitted financial reports for all election levels in 2020 Submitted in due time Not submitted Political parties 336 38 Citizens’ groups 68 135 Coalitions 343 29 Total 747 202 Political organisations Referring to 2019 legislative changes in terms that political organisations are not allowed to use budget funds that candidates in the election and candidate lists such as public office holders, public administration officials or directly elected persons can dispose of in the discharge of their official duties, the ACA states in its report that it issued 34 decisions as an institution pursuant to charges pressed against political organisations. A breach of regulations was established in eight cases, which led to the issue of five warnings and submitting three requests to initiate misdemeanor proceedings.64 The Law on financing political activities incorporates legal provisions relevant to resolving complaints to the ACA related to campaign financing and utilization of public resources, however IFES stated in its assessment of Serbian elections65 that ‘individual provisions in the Law on Prevention of Corruption generally apply to complaints about corruptive behavior, and these include more detail than the provisions of the Law on financing political activities’. The Anti-Corruption Agency Report on the 2020 Election Campaign Finance Audit, March 2021. https://www.acas.rs/wpcontent/uploads/2021/04/Izvestaj-verzija-V-Kampanja-konacno.pdf 64 Ibid. 65 IFES, Technical Election Assessment Mission (TEAM) in Serbia, 2021 63 42