Constitutional Court conducts financial audit of political parties: Criminal complaints to be filed

The Constitutional Court's financial audit decision regarding 5 political parties has been published in the Official Gazette. The decision published in the Official Gazette included the statement from the second paragraph of Article 74 of Law No. 2820: “The chairmen of political parties are required to submit a copy of the final accounts, which have been finalized and consolidated, including the final accounts of the party headquarters and the provincial organizations covering the affiliated districts, to the Constitutional Court and to the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation for information by the end of June.”

Accordingly, following the examinations, it was decided to file criminal complaints against 5 political parties with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. In the published decisions, the report presented to the board by Rapporteur Ömer Dursun was examined following the review of the 2021 final accounts of the Love and Respect Party and the 2021 and 2022 final accounts of the Kuvayi Milliye Party, based on the final accounts submitted by the parties.

Accordingly, it was observed that the headquarters of the Love and Respect Party for the year 2021, and the headquarters of the Kuvayi Milliye Party during the year 2021 and until the date of 26.06.2022 when the decision to close was taken, did not generate any income and did not incur any expenses.

The decision drew attention to the fact that the buildings where the parties operate should be party property or rented; and that parties should have administrative expenses such as rent, water, electricity, telephone, and stationery.

As a result of the examination, it was decided unanimously to file a criminal complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in accordance with Article 111 of Law No. 2820, as the parties failed to establish a record and document system that would allow for accountability to the Constitutional Court, and engaged in actions aimed at obstructing the examination and investigation by realizing income and expenses outside of the accounts.

Furthermore, the 2021 final accounts of the Homeland Party, the 2021 and 2022 final accounts of the Turkey Golden Age Party, and the 2021 final accounts of the Innovation Party were examined by the board according to the initial examination report of Rapporteur Ömer Dursun.

It was reiterated that the parties are required to submit a copy of their final accounts to the Constitutional Court and to the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation for information in accordance with Article 74 of Law No. 2820. However, the published decision stated that the parties' documents were not approved by the authorized party bodies and could not be considered documents that could be examined by the Constitutional Court. The decision determined that the parties did not send the decision stating that their final accounts had been examined, consolidated, and approved.

While it was determined that the parties acted in violation of Articles 69, 70, and 74 of the Political Parties Law No. 2820, it was decided unanimously to file a criminal complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in accordance with Article 111 of Law No. 2820, as the parties failed to establish a record and document system that would allow for accountability to the Constitutional Court, and engaged in actions aimed at obstructing the examination and investigation by realizing income and expenses outside of the accounts.