Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/860911
10 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 AUGUST 2017 News Elections 2017 in expenses MaltaToday collected all available returns deposited by Who got most donations? Owen Bonnici Robert Abela Manuel Mallia Michael Farrugia Ian Borg Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi Clifton Grima Mario de Marco Edward Scicluna Evarist Bartolo Districts 3 & 5 District 6 District 9 & 10 Districts 11 & 12 Districts 6 & 7 Districts 5 & 7 District 9 & 10 District 1 District 7 & 8 District 10 & 12 €27,641 €26,995 €24,029 €22,331 €21,259 €18,084 €18,047 €17,600 €13,244 €12,903 Who spent the most? €29,794 €25,706 €24,872 €24,029 €23,453 €20,598 €20,103 €19,846 €19,757 €19,675 Silvio Schembri Beppe Fenech Adami Chris Fearne Manuel Mallia Ian Borg Owen Bonnici Michael Farrugia José Herrera Mario de Marco Claudio Grech Districts 11 & 12 District 9 & 10 Districts 6 & 7 District 1 District 1 District 1 Districts 3 & 4 Districts 3 & 5 Districts 7 & 8 Districts 6 & 7 Highest spend on Facebook ads Top five spenders on advertising Ian Borg Chris Fearne Manuel Mallia Joe Mizzi Silvio Schembri District 2 & 3 Districts 6 & 7 Districts 9 & 10 Districts 3 & 4 Districts 6 & 7 €9,208 €8,287 €8,237 €7,648 €7,252 Aaron Farrugia Anton Refalo Robert Cutajar Edwin Vassallo Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi Districts 7 & 11 Districts 5 & 7 District 12 District 13 District 1 €1,605 €890 €684.55 €489 €418.82 *Spending on FB only where specified *Does not include printing, stationery, or communication expenses such as SMS advertising Coffee mornings, dinner dances, 'friends of' get- togethers, and some interesting donations MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S electoral returns are no tidy affair. Electoral candidates are still fill- ing in their declared expenses and receipts on forms which list 'tel- egrams' as a form of communica- tion. Those MPs who took the trou- ble to break down their expenses listed 'Facebook' or 'social media' under the Advertising category. Like the inadequate declaration of assets filled out by MPs and ministers in the House of Representatives, the electoral returns are an anachronism in desperate need of a refit. Neither are these returns scanned for online con- sumption: candidates' electoral expenses are scruti- nised only by political watchers and journalists. Keen observers will note how various candidates are allowed to omit explanatory details on who their donors ac- tually are, and whether some hefty donations are ex- penses that are covered by establishments who host their coffee mornings, dinner-dances, and other lavish parties. Various other candidates however have included enough detail in their returns. For example, Manuel Mallia (PL) received €5,000 from A&A Limited, as well as €2,000 from Norman Zammit, an "ex client"; Clyde Puli (PN) declared his €300 expense at the To- paz Hotel as a receipt from the Tum Invest Group, as well as other expenses such as banner printing, stage, sound and lighting expenses; Silvio Grixti received €1,500 from Mall Systems Ltd; Clifton Grima (PL) (declared various expenses as campaign donations, namely €5,000 from Zarb Coaches, €1,000 from Sean- av Maritime, €2,360 from AGN Non Ferrous Ltd, and €646 from IZI Ltd; Roderick Galdes (PL) received €500 from the company Qormi Radiators. Julia Farrugia (PL) also declared a host of expenses as donations, namely €1,565 from Monte Kristo Estates, €2,500 from 'GAP' – possibly GAP Developments al- though this is not expressly stated – and €150 from the Buskett Roadhouse. The PN deputy leader Mario de Marco registered all his donations as hailing from his closest canvassers, namely Valletta businessman Paul Spiteri (€1,000), €5,550 from his former brother-in-law Joe Caruana Curran, €2,000 from nephew Gianluca Caruana Cur- ran, and others close to the former minister. Civil liberties minister Helena Dalli declared a €10,701 donation from her own family's company, PADA Builders Ltd; Ryan Callus also declared most of his campaign expenses as donations or receipts from sales of t-shirts and donations for transport; roads minister Ian Borg actually collected €9,575 during a rally for 2,400 people where "each donation was less than €50" and another €6,584 for pre-election party for 2,500 attendees. Education minister Evarist Bartolo registered do- nations of €500 from Victor Satariano, €826 from MCAST chairman Silvio Debono's Idea Management Ltd (MCAST falls under Bartolo's portfolio), €2,600 from Paul Bonello's Finco Trust (Bartolo made Bonel- lo's campaign on the La Vallette Property Fund reim- bursement a political mission of his before 2013), and €767 from Maurice Gruppetta, who is an advisor to Bartolo in the education ministry. Data compiled by Liam Carter and Yannick Pace Some data may be incomplete since clarifications on expenses and receipts were requested by the Electoral Commission after declarations were made. Informa- tion is as shown on returns compiled by the Commissio n when these were given to MaltaToday.