Presidential, Rules on Financing

The election campaign for the May 2025 presidential elections takes place between April 4, 00:00 – May 3, 7:00.

According to the campaign rules, the contributions of the candidates for the election campaign can come exclusively from their own revenues, donations received from natural persons (maximum 810,000 lei) or loans from individuals or contracted (maximum 2,025,000 lei). The maximum value of the contributions of a presidential electoral competitor cannot exceed the amount of 81,000,000 lei.

The rules of financing the election campaigns are regulated by:
* Law no. 334 of July 17, 2006 regarding the financing of the activity of political parties and election campaigns;
* Decision no. 11 of March 21, 2025 regarding the approval of the Guide for Financing of the Electoral Campaign in the elections for the President of Romania in 2025;
* Law no. 206 of November 8, 2019 regarding the establishment of measures to implement the Regulation (EU, Euratom) no. 1.141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the status and financing of European political parties and European political foundations.

According to Law no. 334/2006, the principles of financing the activity of political parties and election campaigns are the following: the principle of legality; the principle of equal opportunities; the principle of transparency of income and expenses; the principle of independence of political parties and candidates towards financiers; the principle of integrity of political and electoral competition.

Expenses related to election campaigns must comply with a number of conditions such as:

* to come only from contributions of the candidates or political formations;
* to be employed only with the prior visa of the competent financial agent;
* to fall within the limits provided by law (81,000,000 lei for the elections of May 4, 2025);
* to be carried out by electoral competitors only for the promotion of candidates and their own electoral programs.

In the interval between the moment of bringing to the public knowledge of the election date and until the date of the beginning of the election campaign, respectively on April 3, 2025, each electoral competitor had the obligation to register with the permanent electoral authority a coordinating financial agent. It can be designated as a coordinating financial agent only the natural person who has the status of authorized accounting or accounting expert, respectively only the legal person offering specialized accounting services. Candidates cannot be financial agents, through the electoral competitor, understanding political party, political/electoral alliance or independent candidate, is shown in GD no. 11/2025.

Also, every political party that is part of an electoral alliance participating in the elections for the President of Romania in 2025 designates a coordinating financial agent. The financial agent is responsible, in solidarity with the political party that designated, the legality of the financial operations performed during the election campaign and to respect the provisions. (Law no. 334/2006 and GD 11/2025).

At the time of registration at the AEP, the coordinating financial agent receives a unique identification code of the party, the political alliance or the independent candidate, which will be found in the label of all the political advertising materials that will be produced and used in the election campaign, belonging to the electoral competitor it represents, regardless of their type. The unique identification codes received by the coordinating financial agents will be brought to public knowledge by the Permanent Electoral Authority through the website www.finantarepartide.ro.

The collection of electoral contributions and the payment of electoral expenses can only be carried out through the bank accounts prior to the permanent electoral authority. In the elections for the European Parliament and in the elections for the President of Romania, the political parties and independent candidates will use to finance the election campaign a single bank account. (Art. 28 of Law no. 334/2006)

The maximum limits of candidates’ contributions for the presidential election campaign is 20,000 minimum gross basic salaries in the country. (Law no. 334/2006 and GD no. 11/2025). The value of the minimum gross basic salary in the country envisaged in determining the maximum limit of contributions for the election campaign is 4,050 lei, so that the maximum value of the contributions for the election campaign carried out by an electoral competitor is 81,000,000 lei. (GD no. 11/2025)

Candidates’ contributions for the election campaign may come exclusively from:

* their own income;
* donations received from individuals;
* loans from individuals or contracted with credit institutions.

Candidates can contribute to their own election campaign with funds that come from these sources to the amount of 81,000,000 lei. Also, the donation or loan received from a natural person cannot exceed the value of 200 minimum gross basic salaries in the country, respectively the amount of 810,000 lei. The loans contracted from a credit institution cannot exceed the value of 500 minimum gross basic salaries in the country, respectively the amount of 2,025,000 lei.

It is forbidden to finance the election campaign, directly or indirectly, by natural persons who do not have Romanian citizenship or by legal persons of a nationality other than the Romanian one, except for the financing by the citizens of the Member States of the European Union who have their domicile in Romania and hold the quality of the Political Party to which the electoral campaign contributes financially. The amounts thus received are confiscated and come to the state budget. (art. 32 of Law no. 334/2006).

It is also forbidden to finance in any way of the election campaign of a party, their alliance or an independent candidate by a public authority, public institution, autonomous directorate, national company, credit institution, to which are majority shareholders the state or administrative-territorial units, companies regulated by Law no. 31/1990, which carry out activities financed from public funds; by unions, religious cults, associations or foundations of Romanian nationality or of nationality than the Romanian one.

The records of the contributions and expenses for the election campaign belonging to the political parties and independent candidates is organized exclusively by the financial agents.

The expenses incurred cannot be higher than the electoral contributions deposited or transferred in the open bank accounts for the election campaign.

Within 15 days from the date of election, respectively until May 18, 2025 (but also 15 days after the second round, if it takes place), the coordinating financial agent is obliged to submit to the permanent electoral authority, in writing and in electronic editable format, among others:

* the detailed report of the electoral income and expenses, according to a predetermined model;
* the declaration regarding the total amount of the debts registered as a result of the campaign, according to a predetermined model;
* the declaration regarding the total amount of the debts registered following the election campaign, signed and dated by the legal representative of the political party, the political alliance, or by the person empowered according to their statute or by the independent candidate, as the case may be;
* Declaration regarding the number of political advertising/electoral propaganda and used materials, broken down by categories, according to a predetermined model, signed and dated by the legal representative of the political party, the political alliance, or by the person empowered according to their statute or by the independent candidate, as the case may be.
* Declaration regarding compliance with maximum ceilings for electoral expenses, according to a predetermined, signed and dated model, etc.

The political parties, the political alliances and the organizations of the citizens belonging to the national minorities who obtain at least 3% of the total valid votes expressed, as well as the independent candidates who obtain at least 3% of the total valid votes expressed, according to the law, to the reimbursement of the expenses related to the election campaign.