Burgenland: Premature Election Advertising by SPÖ Mandate Has Consequences
For the Burgenland state election on January 19, new regulations for election advertising applied. In addition to the campaign cost cap, which all parties had agreed to comply with, advertising was only allowed from the key date, October 29, 2024.
Submission of Facts Presented
In mid-October of the previous year, the People's Party was outraged that Dax had already advertised online for a preferential vote for him before the key date. The ÖVP therefore submitted a statement of facts to the office of the Burgenland state government for violation of the party funding law. According to the SPÖ, the member of parliament had spent 100 euros from his personal budget for the advertisement and "did not consider that election advertising was only allowed from October 29." He immediately removed the posting.
The statement of facts was dealt with at the beginning of the year by the responsible department, the state media service announced on Friday in response to an APA inquiry: "A violation of §4 paragraph 4 of the Burgenland party funding law was found and a sanction imposed." The calculation of the sanction is carried out according to the legal provisions based on objective criteria, particularly considering the time component - namely the duration of the violation - and the fact that it was the first offense. The exact penalty amount was not disclosed, as it is subject to "confidentiality interests," it was said to the APA.
SPÖ Acknowledged the Decision
According to the state media service, the SPÖ acknowledged the decision, and the procedure is concluded. There would have been the possibility to request a notice and then appeal against it. However, this did not happen. The fine is automatically deducted from the party funding. According to party information, the penalty amount was 1,000 euros. The deduction has already been made, it was said from the state party.
A statement of facts was also submitted against the ÖVP during the election campaign, as the SPÖ identified a violation through the magazine "Unterm Strich" distributed by the Blacks. This procedure has not yet been completed due to its scope. Therefore, there was no further information from the state.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.