The Civic Alliance calls on the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (ASK) to improve its reporting model on the allocation and purpose of funds intended for the regular work of women’s organisations within political parties by introducing a mandatory narrative report in which political entities would provide detailed information on the activities carried out, the number of women reached, and the way in which the allocated funds contributed to strengthening women’s participation in politics.
Based on the reports submitted by political parties to ASK, it is impossible to determine how more than €1.1 million in public funds allocated to women’s organisations has actually been spent. Instead of providing a clear overview of activities aimed at empowering women for political engagement, the reports contain only aggregated expenditures, one-off financial assistance, donations, hospitality expenses and other cost items that do not make it possible to assess whether the funds were used for activities that genuinely contribute to women’s political empowerment.
Since 2020, the Law on the Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns has provided for a dedicated budget allocation to support the work of women’s organisations within political parties, with the aim of strengthening women’s capacity for more active participation in politics. Although the law stipulates that these funds should be used in accordance with the statutes of the women’s organisations, most of these statutes are not publicly available, preventing citizens from verifying whether the funds have been spent in line with the prescribed rules.
Examples from the financial reports further illustrate the problem. The Democratic People’s Party (DNP) reported spending €18,200 of the funds allocated to its women’s organisation, of which more than €10,000 was spent on advertising. The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) allocated more than €100,000, among other things, to the Congress of the Women’s Alliance, pre-election activities, stage design, photography services and a pre-New Year celebration.
At the same time, several political parties justified their spending through donations, one-off financial assistance, Christmas and Easter allowances, International Women’s Day celebrations and hospitality expenses.
The most striking example is the Bosniak Party (BS), which recorded more than 80 per cent of the funds received (€88,460) as expenditure for one-off financial assistance. The Croatian Civic Initiative (HGI) reported €21,916 for International Women’s Day celebrations, Christmas and Easter allowances; URA reported €6,167 for sponsorships, donations and International Women’s Day activities; the Europe Now Movement (PES) reported €46,686 for activities marking Pink October and hospitality related to International Women’s Day; while the Socialist People’s Party (SNP) recorded €11,230 for solidarity assistance.
A significant share of the allocated funds was either not spent at all by parliamentary parties or no expenditure was reported. More than €64,000 remained unspent by the Democrats, over €58,000 by the SNP, almost €55,000 by the HGI, more than €31,000 by the Europe Now Movement, over €21,000 by the DNP, while CIVIS spent less than €500 out of the €3,545 it had received.
These findings are particularly significant when compared with the results of the Civic Alliance’s research “Women’s Participation in Local Politics – An Empirical Analysis of the Attitudes and Experiences of Women Councillors,” published in November 2025. Almost 40 per cent of respondents identified political and communication training as the most important form of support, while political academies, mentoring programmes and the development of practical political skills were also highlighted as priorities. In other words, women clearly express a need for education and empowerment, while a considerable share of public funds specifically intended for that purpose either remains unspent or is reported in a manner that makes it impossible to determine whether it has been used for activities aligned with that objective.
Although the Agency for Prevention of Corruption’s reporting template requires the source of funding to be specified for each individual activity, political parties generally report expenditures in an aggregated and highly generalised manner. As a result, it is impossible to determine what was actually financed, who participated in the activities, or what measurable outcomes were achieved.
