Transparency and accountability mark a fresh cycle in political party oversight with every election cycle, and an official body is tasked with ensuring legal compliance. A recent briefing video explains how this watchdog ensures parties act within the rules. In under two minutes, the monitoring authority outlines its mandate and the cost implications, estimated at 110 million euros—50 million for national elections and 60 million for local elections.
In the lead up to and during the 23J period, a mechanism has been activated that relies on the structures of participating parties, whether visible on ballots or within the electoral workflow. Campaigns incur expenses that are partially funded by public money. The state subsidizes groups represented in the most recent appointment and, for general elections, contributes based on three factors: the number of seats held, the votes cast in the national Congress, and the votes won in the Senate.
The Congressional and Senate party lists for the 23J are published in the BOE.
Under the first instruction dated 30 May, treasure parties receive 21,167.64 euros per seat in either chamber. This translates to a subsidy of 0.81 euros for each vote in Congress for parties with at least one seat and 0.32 euros for each vote won by elected senators. While budgets are centralised, regional populations and census data still shape allocations. The detailed table in this report shows how the funding translates into outcomes across different ballot boxes, with larger parties clearly advantaged in the overall economic plan. The results indicate that the plan’s design benefits the People’s Party (PP) and the Socialist Party (PSOE), the only two represented in the Senate. In the Alicante constituency alone, this yields peaks of 163,066.88 and 154,546.56 euros respectively.
In the final tally, Alicante voters account for 1,298,277.67 euros in public funds. The education sector shows PP and PSOE receiving over 450,000 euros combined, with others receiving totals under 200,000 euros.
As with all democratic calls, the Electoral Regime Law imposes limits. If followed, parties face a maximum of 703,589.78 euros for election expenses and 300,441.41 euros for sending election propaganda. Critics highlight the environmental and logistical costs of paper and related resources, yet there is little appetite for change.
Political parties will receive more than three million euros for the regional campaign
Apart from proposals to centralize maritime transport, the oversight body has spent years pursuing a policy shift suited to contemporary information channels. The authority now invites voters to consider the feasibility of designing and implementing a system that renders voting materials and propaganda more efficient—reducing public funding while maintaining guarantees in the process. The new method aligns with modern media practices and technical advancements, enabling a safer, more economical execution.
The reluctance to act stems from the vital information counted by the electoral tally, which remains a key tool for parties and, critics insist, a channel for unsolicited data.
Citizen, 1.5 million in public savings.
Following a reset at the start of the year and the surge in local and regional elections, Ciudadanos chose not to trigger another general election. Economically, the party judged it wiser to avoid a larger problem. The Orange formation announced campaign expenditures of 10,142,894.02 euros on 10 November 2019. Of this amount, 6,066,893.90 euros came from debt channels, 2.9 million from subsidy advances, and the rest from party contributions. The decision represented a saving of 1,548,427.58 euros relative to the funds allocated per vote and seat (ten seats) in Congress, given that no seats were won in the Senate.
2019 reference
The most recent economic reference for election spending comes from the Court of Accounts’ inspection report published on 10 November 2019. Twenty-two parties declared a total of 49 million euros, with 43.93% financed by bank debts, 27.70% from election subsidies, 28.29% from the parties’ own contributions, and the remainder from private sources.
After regulatory checks, the report to Congress adjusted the total to 48.93 million euros, with 48.27% used for regular election operations and 51.73% allocated to direct and personal election propaganda mailings. The document notes that twelve entities met all requirements for the special subsidy.
Conversely, a few notes stand out. For instance, 531,912 euros were not electoral in nature under the Electoral Law; 381,706 euros were linked to illegal spending; 5,782 euros covered expenditures beyond the regulatory period; and 11,645 euros were for unjustified costs.
A table accompanying the report shows envelopes and ballot papers in Benidorm, illustrating the scale and mechanics of logistics in play during the campaign. The supervisory body issued a dozen recommendations, including tightening the linkage between voter engagement and geographic accessibility, acknowledging a 600,000-person population drop in Alicante, and urging a shift toward non-paper advertising and broader digital media while maintaining transparent expense accounting.
Work is underway to publish an instruction on the authority’s website and in the BOE. Parties will have between 100 and 125 days to submit accounting following the July 23 deadline. The audit itself is projected to take about five months, including the claims window. In the Valencian Community, similar procedures accompany local and regional elections conducted by the Court of Auditors.
What did they spend the money on in the last 10N?
Nearly two hundred audit reports scrutinized the expenditures of 22 parties that participated in the November 10, 2019 general elections and received public funds. The Court of Accounts not only compiles this documentation but also details how financial resources were used in a formal file. The oversight body may reduce subsidies or pursue penalties based on the information parties provided.
The report notes that all but Agrupación Socialista Gomera submitted their accounts on time. The analysis focuses on the Valencian Community’s five parties represented in the Cortes Generales.
PEOPLE’S PARTY. more complete
The president then was Pablo Casado. The party filed complete data on time. While not exceeding legal limits, it spent the most overall (12,492,694.61 euros). Of that total, 7.3 million came from bank loans, 3.5 million from state advances, and the remaining 1.6 million from the party’s contributions. About half of the budget funded ordinary expenses such as advertising, with the other half allocated to sending election propaganda. The treasury closed with a balance of 105,801.72 euros owed to suppliers.
PSOE. No outdoor advertising
The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party trimmed outdoor advertising, a longtime campaign staple, to zero. Total accounts were 10,692,088.49 euros and were filed on time without exceeding LOREG limits. Over 60% financed miscellaneous expenses, including 1.3 million for press and radio advertising. The remainder covered other propaganda costs. The origin of funds was twofold: 6.9 million from debt transactions and the rest from electoral subsidies. There was no outstanding treasury balance, though a separate invoice entry of 11,147.88 euros appeared.
VOX. far from the top
Santiago Abascal’s party spent little relative to the cap, declaring 2,807,096 euros in funding. The campaign relied mainly on internal contributions, leaving a small debt to suppliers and a tiny treasury balance. About half the budget went to ordinary expenses, with a large share devoted to advertising posts. The Valencia Fair was the only supplier that did not report timely information.
WE CAN UNITE. facebook earnings
Under the Sumar umbrella, the purple coalition recorded 5,553,401.51 euros in spending, primarily from party contributions with public aid contributing the remainder. Advertising mail constituted about 60% of this total, while other newsletters represented the rest. Notably, the coalition allocated more than 750,000 euros to Facebook, a platform that did not report this in a timely fashion. Unidas Podemos filed accounts on time, ending with a modest treasury balance and some outstanding supplier debts.
MORE COMMITMENT. modest budget
Although not present in Alicante’s state, the coalition aligned with the Sumar movement. Its budget barely surpassed 265,000 euros, well below legal limits. Over 90% of reporting came from contributions, with suppliers left unpaid and no new debt recorded.