PL, PN declare no big donors in 2020 donation reports

The Labour and Nationalist parties received no donations that required disclosure in 2020, apart from a single contribution made by Bernard Grech to his own party.

The information comes from the donation reports filed with the Electoral Commission and published on its website last week. The reports are for 2020 but were only published now by the commission.

Grech’s donation of €14,973 to the PN consisted of unspent funds collected during his campaign for the party leadership in 2020. The amount had already been declared in an audit of campaign funds that Grech published at the time.

Apart from this donation, the PN received no other contribution above the €7,000 transparency limit, which according to law must be disclosed publicly. Even the Labour Party did not receive one single donation exceeding €7,000.

This was the second year running that both parties did not receive donations above €7,000. In 2019, a year that coincided with MEP and local elections, no donations above the limit were received.

By law parties are only obliged to publish the source of donations above the €7,000 threshold, while donations above €25,000 from a single source are illegal.

The PL received €1.35 million in donations in 2020, an increase from €1.12 million a year earlier. The PN received €1.06 million down from €1.6 million in 2019.

Both major parties declared a considerable amount of money from individuals and companies whose donations exceeded €500 but stayed below €7,000, meaning the source will only be known to the Electoral Commission but not to the public.

The PN declared 171 donations between €500 and €7,000 which netted €316,730, while the PL declared 334 donations that resulted in €783,464.

This means that while the PN received an average donation of €1,852 from its 171 ‘big’ donors, the PL received an average donation of €2,345 from its 334 ‘big’ donors.

Labour also received €569,349 from 29,193 donations under €500. Labour’s report does not include any donations under €50 received during public manifestations.

The PN received €566,997 from 35,613 donations of under €50 made during public manifestations and 843 donations of between €50 and €500 which netted a further €163,005.

While the 2020 and 2019 donation reports listed no donors above the €7,000 limit (except Grech’s PN donation), the reports covering 2016, 2017 and 2018 had identified several donations over the limit.

Corporate donations were most prominent in reports issued in 2016 when the PL had collected €93,000 in donations above the threshold. These donors were Attard Bros and Eurocraft (€10,000 each), €20,000 from Sea View & Sons, €10,000 from Camland, GAP Holdings, Hal Mann, and BV Formosa, and €13,000 from the Marsaxlokk Labour Party club. The PN had at the time received a single donation of €18,000 from the late Nationalist MP Anthony Abela.

In 2017, the Labour Party had received two donations over the the limit: €15,000 from Marlene Gauci and one of €10,000 from Tarcisio Galea Properties, a corporate entity. The Nationalist Party received a €10,320 donation from Sam Abela – Anthony Abela’s son.

In 2018, the PL had received €25,000 from Sensiela Kotba Socjalisti, the PL’s publishing house, and €10,000 from the Ħamrun Labour Party Club.  The PN managed to get a €10,100 donation from Sam Abela.

PL surplus, PN deficit in COVID year

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission also published on its website the parties’ accounts for 2020.

They show the Labour Party registering a €297,603 surplus, reversing a €774,061 deficit registered in 2019.

The accounts show that the party had an income of €1.6 million and spent €1.3 million.

The report also indicates a sharp increase in the value of the PL’s current assets from €22.2 million in 2019 to €39.2 million in 2020.

The major change was the PL’s investment in its controlled entities which includes clubs and branches, the value of which increased from €12.5 million to €26.2 million.

The PL’s liabilities amounted to €4.5 million, up from €3.9 million in 2019.  These included borrowing of around €3 million.

The published accounts for the Nationalist Party show the party registering a €526,649 deficit in 2020. The deficit is mainly the result of an impairment of €644,409 on amounts advanced to its controlled entities like Medialink. In fact, in the absence of this impairment the party would have registered a surplus of €128,202.

The accounts show that the party had an income of €1.5 million and an expenditure of €1.4 million.

The party’s assets included €15.8 million in property and investments. Its total liabilities amounted to €10.8 million up from €9.8 million in 2019. These include borrowings amounting to €9.7 million, up from €8.8 million in the previous year.