Reports of Political Parties are Public Documents
ExpiredBelgrade - The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance Rodoljub Sabic said that the reports of political parties about the funding of the election campaign were documents which should be accessible to the public, regardless of the results of the audit of their content. “Reports have been made, documented and signed by responsible persons in political parties. These persons are standing behind them and those reports can't be altered. The content of the reports will not change even if RIK, using its right and duty to check the reports, should ascertain certain defects, inaccuracies or inconsistencies” it was said in Sabic's statement.
Regarding the debate about whether RIK would make available to the public reports that the parties submitted prior or after the audit performed and the publication in the Official Gazette, the Commissioner reminded about the provisions of the Law on Free Access to Information and the fact that information should be accessible regardless of the fact whether documents are published or not. Reports submitted by parties are without any doubt documents containing information of public importance. Publishing these reports is indeed the way to ensure their availability to the broadest circle of interested parties, but they should be accessible to the public even prior to their publishing, Sabic said. The newsdesk of Danas has requested the parties' reports from RIK, pursuant to the Law on Free Access to Information, but we are yet to receive a response to this day. Since the deadline for submitting the report has elapsed, Danas will file a complaint with the Commissioner for Information.
