Beyond the votes themselves, political parties allocate substantial sums of public money at every election. The funds they raise may be recoverable or not, depending on electoral results. The six groups represented in the Cortes during the prior legislative period justified election expenditures slightly above 3.1 million euros and received 2.5 million in return, leaving a net deficit of over 600 thousand euros. The shortfall is most pronounced for Compromís, Unides Podem, and Ciudadanos, while PPCV, PSPV, and Vox managed to balance their accounts more effectively.
These figures come from the Comptes Sindicatura, which released its report on election compliance this Monday. Among its conclusions, the supervisory body notes that Vox did not meet the statutory deadline to submit its accounting, which is 30 days after the election under article 44.1 of the electoral law. The Ombudsman states that the party’s general manager requested a delay in providing the economic documents, but did so after the legal deadline had passed.
Concretely, the deadline for submitting accounts was June 27, yet Vox had not requested an extension by June 29. According to the report, Sindicatura nonetheless granted extra days, extending the deadline to July 10, and Vox submitted the documents on July 7. The organization states that any violation of the rules will be sanctioned by the competent electoral board and recommends that the radical formation take the necessary steps to provide a detailed and documented accounting of revenue and election expenditure.
Subsidies received by each party
Among the groups, PSPV accounted for the largest justified expenditure in terms of matches, with a subsidy of 927,312.4 euros. The PP was set to receive 838,457.76 euros from the public fund, though its ceiling approached 1.2 million, leaving the door open for higher spending. Vox chose restraint, opting for a subsidy of 235,987.9 euros from a maximum 398,000 euros.
For Compromís, Ciudadanos, and Unides Podem, whose poor poll performance translated into heavy spending, the outlook diverges markedly. Valencian authorities recorded justified expenditures of 615,000 euros, but only 459,000 euros aligned with those costs, creating a shortfall of 156,000 euros under the 28M framework.
Perhaps more troubling is the situation for the purple and orange blocs, both of whom saw representation in the Cortes dwindle. The Liberals spent 170,000 euros on election expenditures—the smallest figure among the groups anticipated to falter—yet they will receive nothing. UP reported 338,000 euros in spending and is entitled to only 61,000 euros, resulting in a deficit of 276,000 euros.