Spotlight on donations to political parties

Umut Erdem- ANKARA

The question of donations to political parties has arisen following the circulating footage allegedly showing a large sum of cash being counted during the purchase of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul headquarters building in 2019.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an inquiry last week into the footage shared on certain social media accounts, showing Fatih Keleş, a senior official from the party, counting large sums of money at the CHP center, claiming that the source of the money is unclear.

According to statements from CHP officials, the party organized a donation campaign for the purchase of the building in 2019, clarifying that the money in the footage was indeed donated funds.

Amidst the footage and subsequent statements, debates ensued regarding the scope and method of donations to political parties, with the statutory upper limit for donations in 2024 set at 351,134 Turkish Liras ($10.855).

However, nearly all political parties have dedicated web pages for donations, accepting contributions starting from 25 liras via credit card or bank transfer.

This upper limit is annually recalibrated, with the maximum amount per person being 221,591 liras in 2023.

In the first statement following the footage, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç reminded that the Political Parties Law clearly regulates both the amount and manner of donations to parties.

"The form and amount of donations are specified under the Political Parties Law. The prosecutor will certainly inquire into the source of these funds. If there's any criminal activity or illicit income, it will be uncovered. We live in an era where money is transferred through bank accounts," Tunç stated.

CHP Istanbul Chairman Özgür Çelik, on the other hand, noted that some donors, especially businessmen, prefer to deliver their financial assistance directly rather than through bank channels, rejecting claims that making donations in person constitutes a criminal element or irregularity.

Speaking to daily Hürriyet, legal scholar Prof. Dr. Erol Ulusoy pointed out that political parties are not required to issue receipts or invoices for donations up to 5 million liras, but documentation is necessary for donations exceeding that amount.