The State Audit Office (ÁSZ) is unable to prepare a report on the campaign financing of the candidate organizations that obtained at least 1 percent in the parliamentary elections by the time specified by law, because there were serious suspicions of illegal campaign financing, the president of the ÁSZ stated on Monday at the meeting of the Economic Committee of the Parliament.
László Windisch stated that it became necessary to involve the National Tax and Customs Office to prepare the report, because
doubts also arose regarding the authenticity of receipts and performance certificates for significant amounts.
He reminded: intelligence reports show that the campaign of the opposition parties was also financed by foreign sources through the Everyone's Hungary Movement (MMM), which is prohibited and the most serious attack on a country's sovereignty and democracy.
As he said, the SAO has a legal obligation to conduct an investigation after every election; and in this case
it also became necessary to investigate the MMM, which does not function as a party, but actively participates in the election campaign.
According to his announcement, the opposition parties submitted their report on campaign financing to the ÁSZ, but doubts arose regarding its authenticity, since the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition coalition, Péter Márki-Zay, himself stated that a significant portion of the joint campaign was financed by the MMM.
In other words, it became clear that the events related to the joint campaign were financed through MMM, and MMM received money from foreign organizations, he added.
In this regard, he emphasized: the control of the use of campaign funds by the SAO is carried out precisely in order to find out whether illegal financing has taken place.
It seems that this happened, said László Windisch.
The report will be made public after its results have been discussed with the leaders of all relevant parties, said the president of the SAO in front of the economic committee.
Bence Tordai, a representative of the Párbeszéd-Zöldek, described the statement of the president of the ÁSZ as a fairy tale and a farce of the "party-state audit office". He believed that the ÁSZ does not carry out any professional activity and that it is obvious that it "serves the interests of the Fidesz communication campaign".
Erik Bánki, the chairman of the committee, called on the speaking opposition representatives to exercise restraint on several occasions and asked for more respect for the head of an independent state body.
His faction partner, Kristóf Szatmáry, said: since the regime change, there has been no example of foreign organizations cooperating with domestic organizations to influence the elections.
MTI
Photo: Center for Fundamental Rights
