Bern, 30 August 2024 – Political parties in the Federal Assembly disclose their financing annually as at 30 June of the following year as part of the new regulations on transparency in political financing. The Swiss Federal Audit Office today published the corresponding figures in the electronic reporting register for the first time, together with a list of the people and organisations audited. The total reported receipts for 12 parties for 2023 amount to CHF 29 million.
Total receipts for the Federal Council parties are between CHF 3 million and CHF 9 million
The SP recorded the highest total amount of receipts at CHF 9.03 million. The SVP disclosed CHF 5.94 million, the FDP CHF 4.25 million and The Centre CHF 3.08 million. The income of the Green Party of Switzerland (CHF 2.59 mn) and the Green Liberals (CHF 1.38 mn) also exceeded CHF 1 million. Further receipts are from the Evangelical People’s Party, the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland, the Mouvement Citoyens Genevois, the Lega dei Ticinesi, the Union Populaire and the Swiss Party of Labour.
Scope of the duty of disclosure
In addition to receipts from donations, receipts from events, the sale of goods and services, and receipts from mandate and membership fees had to be disclosed – but not parliamentary group contributions. Donations over CHF 15,000 were also disclosed. Non-party members only have a duty of disclosure if they have received donations in excess of CHF 15,000. Party sections at cantonal and communal level are not subject to disclosure requirements if a national party exists.
Differences in the amount of membership and mandate contributions
The amount of receipts from membership and mandate contributions depends on the number of members, mandates and internal party regulations. There are clear differences: the SP received the highest membership contributions (CHF 2.02 mn), followed by the Evangelical People’s Party (CHF 0.55 mn) and the Green Party of Switzerland (CHF 0.4 mn). In terms of mandate contributions, the SP (CHF 0.45 mn) recorded the highest level of receipts, ahead of the Green Party of Switzerland (CHF 0.38 mn) and the SVP (CHF 0.37 mn) (see party financing chart).
List of people and organisations audited has been published
The SFAO has also published a list of the people and organisations subjected to a material audit. It audited four parties at random with a receipts volume of CHF 4.28 million. This corresponds to 15% of the total amount of annual receipts submitted. The SFAO is not authorised to provide information on the audit findings. Only when a legally binding conviction has been passed down does it publish a reference to this judgement, without further comment, in the corresponding entry in the electronic register.
Outlook and lessons learned
The new transparency provisions were first applied for the federal elections in autumn 2023, and then for the popular votes on 3 March 2024 and 9 June 2024. They have now been applied for the first time in the third and final area of party financing. This autumn, an evaluation led by the Federal Office of Justice will begin to assess the lessons learned. The Federal Council will then receive a report on the findings.