Tarand, Ojuland fined for MEP election financing
MEP Indrek Tarand, former MEP Kristiina Ojuland, and three other individual candidates at the May European Parliament elections have been fined for not declaring bank accounts connected to their campaigns.
The Political Party Funding Oversight Committee turned the case over to the police last week, as the five candidates failed to reveal bank accounts connected to their campaigns, Õhtuleht reported.
Harju County Court found the five guilty today and handed out fines. Tarand will have to pay 160 euros, Ojuland 200. Tarand sent in the necessary documents before the case was heard while one candidate, Andres Inn, was only fined 120 euros as he is a pensioner.
Tarand was the only individual candidate in Estonia to win a seat in the European Parliament, with 43,000 votes. Tanel Talve, a TV host, collected 10,000 votes, with Silver Meikar (6,000) and Kristiina Ojuland (3,000) the other top non-party candidates. Talve and Meikar did not breach election financing rules.