Voters were bombarded with advertising and invitations to social events, but none of the candidates for the European Parliament declared spending more than the legal limit of €18,635 on their personal campaign.

According to the sworn declarations that each submitted to the Electoral Commission following the May 24 election, the 32 candidates together spent €250,500 on trying to get elected.

The biggest expense was on printing and postage – at €46,000 and €40,000 respectively – and on advertising, at €82,000. In fact, voters could hardly turn their heads without encountering adverts on junk mail, newspapers, magazines, websites and Facebook.

The candidates together also spent nearly €65,000 on catering.

The biggest spender was the Nationalist Party’s Raymond Bugeja, who declared €18,442. He also listed as an expense a €68 traffic fine incurred by one his helpers.

Mr Bugeja was closely followed by the Labour Party’s outgoing MEP Joseph Cuschieri, who claimed he spent €18,292.

PN candidates Helga Ellul, Roberta Metsola and Francis Zammit Dimech as well as Labour’s Marlene Mizzi and Lino Bianco, all said they spent over €17,000 on their campaigns.

Dr Metsola spent just over €12,000 on a large-scale event in Malta and €400 on one in Gozo. Ms Mizzi spent nearly €4,000 on five events, including over €200 for her campaign launch. Prof. Bianco spent nearly €5,000 on catering at events.

MEP Alfred Sant (PL) and Gozitan Clint Camilleri spent over €16,000 while MEP Therese Comodini Cachia (PN) spent just over €15,200.

Dr Sant spent over €1,300 on silicone wristbands bearing his name while Dr Comodini Cachia spent $340 and €63 in duty on the importation of 5,000 envelopes from China and just over €4,000 on events, including numerous coffee mornings.

Labour MEP Miriam Dalli and entrepreneur Jonathan Shaw (PN) spent just over €10,000 on their campaigns.

Alternattiva Demokratika’s Carmel Cacopardo and Labour’s candidate Peter Cordina said they did not spend a cent on their campaigns.

AD’s chairman, Arnold Cassola, only attached petrol chits and his mobile phone bill in terms of expenses, which totalled €207.

Imperium Europa’s Norman Lowell spent €222 on the rental of vans for his activities and €100 on fuel, apart for the €300 spent on a photographer for his portraits. He also declared an income of just over €500 from three fundraising events.

Nazzareno Bonnici from Il-Partit ta’ l-Ajkla spent nearly €1,000 on his campaign and declared an income of €400 from donations during corner meetings. The bulk of his expenses were related to travel.

PN’s Gozitan lawyer Kevin Cutajar spent €7,000 on his campaign, with €5,600 of them going on entertainment at campaign events while Labour’s Ivan Grixti spent just over €3,300, with a declared income of €1,410 from donations.