ACCORDING to preliminary data published by the Finance Ministry, the ruling Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) and the opposition Smer have so far spent the most money on their election campaigns.
While Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda's SDKÚ has spent nearly Sk24 million so far, Smer has spent almost Sk19 million, the SME daily wrote.
The money has gone primarily towards billboards and other forms of political advertising.
Most political parties took loans from commercial banks to finance their campaigns. The SDKÚ took a loan from Istrobanka, while Smer drew money from Privatbanka, owned by the Austrian Meinl Bank.
According to the preliminary data, the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia of former Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar has run a particularly modest campaign this year, taking only a Sk3 million loan from a certain Tibor Michálek of Kysuce.
The preliminary report covers party spending between February 15 and May 17. After the elections, parties will have to submit another report on their total election spending.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
