Nicosia, Cyprus. The audit office released a report on Monday identifying widespread breaches of campaign financing rules in the 2024 municipal elections. Auditor-general Andreas Papaconstantinou said certain spending practices made full identification and control of election expenses “practically impossible”.
Spending limit breaches
The report found that seven deputy and mayoral candidates exceeded legal expenditure limits, describing the breaches as a “conscious violation of the law” that risks creating inequalities between candidates.
In Limassol, candidate and incumbent mayor Yiannis Armeftis declared €61,494 in expenses, exceeding the €30,000 limit by €31,494, or 105 per cent.
In Larnaca, Loukas Polykarpou spent €28,601, surpassing the €20,000 cap by 43 per cent. In Dromolaxia, Nikos Damianou exceeded his €10,000 limit by 48 per cent, with total spending of €14,756.
Further breaches were recorded in Amathus, where Kyriakos Xydias spent €29,550 against a €20,000 limit, and in Kourion, where Pantelis Georgiou declared €26,893, exceeding the cap by 34 per cent.
In Paphos, Evros Loizides surpassed the threshold by 17 per cent, while deputy mayoral candidate Miltiadis Papadopoulos in Limassol exceeded his limit by nearly 65 per cent.
Concerns about hidden spending
Papaconstantinou said practices such as privately hosted events, gatherings and “banquets” were used to obscure the real scale of campaign spending.
Follow-up on penalties and potential proceedings
Papaconstantinou said the audit office has requested clarification from the chief returning officer on whether financial penalties equivalent to the excess amounts have been imposed and whether the attorney general, George Savvides, has been informed for potential criminal proceedings.
Limits on audit scope
The report said structural flaws undermine the credibility of campaign finance oversight. Of the €1.21 million in declared election expenditure, only €346,004 was subject to audit because current legislation limits scrutiny to advertising costs.
How should campaign finance oversight be changed to allow broader auditing beyond advertising costs?