Elections and political clientelism

Empirical data shows that Romanian political finance has potentially become less corrupt since decision-makers increased the value of subsidies for political parties and introduce reimbursement of electoral expenses. In the same time, political parties started …

The overall aim of the project is to increase citizen participation in electoral processes in Europe. The project aims to empower European citizens to improve democratic electoral processes on local, national and European level and to …

Expert Forum (EFOR) is pleased to invite you to an international debate about the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the election monitoring activity. The purpose of the event is to exchange experience and good practice on …

Expert Forum submitted comments to the Legal Committee of the Senate on the Legislative proposal for amending and supplementing Law 334/2006 on the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns, L313/2023. The initiative of the …

EFOR released the only database with all the candidates for the Romanian elections. The database is part of the BaniPartide platform and includes candidates from 2004 to 2020 who participated in local, parliamentary, presidential and European …

  Expert Forum, in collaboration with other civic groups, submitted comments on the proposed bill amending Law 334/2006. EFOR representatives also participated in the debate organized by the PEA, which took place on 8 November. Subsequently, …

EFOR has petitioned political parties and the Permanent Electoral Authority asking for transparency in the allocation and spending of public subsidies. The petition was supported by nearly 15,000 signatures. EFOR thanks to all those who …

EFOR has released its annual report on the financing of political parties in 2021, which analyzes the funds received and spent by parties, the activity of the Permanent Electoral Authority (PEA), access to information and …

Expert Forum invites you to the release event of the financing of political parties report for 2021. The discussion will take place online, on June 23, starting at 10 AM, on Zoom. EFOR has analyzed the …

EFOR is launching the #baniipartidelor (money of the political parties) campaign, which aims to explain how political parties are funded, how election campaigns are conducted, which institutions perform oversight, how transparency is ensured and what …

While the Ministry of Finance drafts the budget for 2022, EFOR called on the Government, the Permanent Electoral Authority and the leaders of the ruling political parties to reduce subsidies for the coming years and …

Womens' representation in politics has become, during the last decade, a priority of the European Union and an important topic of the public agenda within the family of the European states. In the case of …

The signatory organizations are protesting against the unjustified increase of the amounts allocated for the subsidies of the political parties. We took note from the public statement of Prime Minister Florin Cîțu on September 7 …

Transparent political finance systems reinforce a level electoral playing field and reduce the risk of corruption and undue influence – but monitoring donations, state subsidies and how parties and candidates spend their money can raise …

This report examines party funding in a difficult election year that finally proved generous with political parties. We analyzed various sources related to the income and expenditure reports of parties and donors, to identify the …

Expert Forum invites you to the release event of the analysis report on the financing of political parties for 2020. The discussion will take place online, on May 26, starting at 11 AM, through Zoom. EFOR …

The participation of third parties in political life is not regulated in Romania, the legislation establishing that only candidates and political parties can contribute to electoral campaigns. Third parties are those entities other than electoral …

  The parliamentary elections were a competitive process, with multiple electoral options. The authorities organized the process efficiently, but several key regulations were published late and were not communicated effectively. Although the authorities' efforts to give …

Expert Forum will host the release event of the September 27 local election observation report, published by the FiecareVot coalition. On this occasion, we will discuss conclusions and recommendations related to the improvement of the …

This report analyzes the data declared by electoral competitors to the Permanent Electoral Authority (PEA) which has been published on the online platform www.finantarepartide.ro by September 18. For a more general analysis of the legislative …

The 2020 local elections will not change much in terms of women political participation in Romania. The differences from the last round of local elections, in June 2016, are minimal, although upstart parties have joined …

Expert Forum has released the www.votcorect.ro platform for the local elections that will take place on September 27. The website includes several sections with explanations of the main rules regarding the electoral campaign, voters’ registration, …

Expert Forum has released an online platform containing all the candidates for the 2020 local elections, including the data published by the Central Electoral Bureau. The platform allows to search candidates by name, constituencies, political …

Expert Forum has released the first monitoring report on the electoral campaign financing for the local elections to be held on 27 September 2020. The report aims to draw some conclusions in regard to the …

Even though election observation was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains an essential part for the credibility and integrity of the electoral process. In policy brief 89, Expert Forum explores varied experiences from several …

Expert Forum is pleased to invite you to the online debate Organizing elections during the pandemic. The scenarios of political parties that will take place on Thursday, June 4, between at 3 and 5 p.m. …

Elections must be organized in 2020 and the electoral administration must ensure safety for all participants. EFOR launches a public debate and proposes a list of potential solutions that can support the electoral authorities and …

The FiecareVot Coalition (FV) observed the presidential election organized in Romania on 10 and 24 November 2019. FV deployed 850 independent observers in country and abroad who covered some 1,500 polling stations or approximately 8 …

FiecareVot coalition ispleased to invite you to a press conference in order to present the preliminary conclusions after observing the 2nd round of the presidential elections on November 22-24. We will present the first centralized …

Therese Pearce Laanela is the head of elections department at International Idea.  She has a long experience in the electoral field for more than 20 years and is a founding staff member of IDEA. She …

The report shows how Romania pays some of the most substantial national subsidies to political parties in the UE –37 million EUR in 2018 – and questions the rules that should be used to ensure …

FiecareVot Coalition has observed the constitutional referendum organized on the 6th and 7th of October with 841 independent observers, both in the country and abroad, mostly in polling stations in Europe. During the 2 days …

Several non-governmental organizations asked today the Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă to elaborate an emergency ordinance for the introduction of the Electronic System for Voting Monitoring and Prevention of Illegal Voting (SIMPV) for the Constitutional referendum on …

The PSD-ALDE government uses the controversial referendum to amend the Constitution as a permanent populist instrument for electoral campaigning that constantly stirs the spirits. The party leaders have successfully leveraged the subject and threatened on …

Expert Forum observed the first round of local elections in Moldova, held on the 20th of May 2018 in seven localities. Most voters were concentrated in the municipalities of Chisinau and Balti. EFOR team consisted …

Agenda Sessions Report and conclusions Recordings Photo gallery EFOR organized the international conference on Money and politics – linking public resources to the illicit financing of political parties  on the 7th and 8th of September …

 Expert Forum launched the 2016 local elections monitoring report. It includes information about the legislative framework, practical concerns related to the organisation of elections, as well as recommendations pertaining to the technical aspects and political …

In every electoral year you hear about multiple voting, electoral tourism, mayors who use public resources for their own political campaign or stolen votes. Expert Forum gives you the opportunity to see how a polling …

 The Presidential elections in November 2014 have demonstrated that the Parliament cannot stall any further a debate regarding the new legislation on remote voting. Even though there have been several attempts at elaborating remote voting …

EFOR has constantly advocated for remote voting. But the success of this mechanism depends on the certainty of security and on the prevention of frauds or vote manipulation. EFOR has regrettably noted that the legislative …

Countries such as Estonia or France managed to implement internet voting, even though the system was criticized. Other countries, such as the Republic of Moldova are making important steps for introducing this voting method soon. Romania has …

Friday, 13.03.2015, 2.30 PM American Corner Bucharest, National Library of Romania 22 Unirii Blvd., District 3, 1st floor, E wing, Room 01-03.   Following the 2014 presidential elections, the need to implement a remote voting system became even …

Since 2014, EFOR upheld the need for a Social Security Number verification system run by electoral authorities, in order to avoid multiple votes. During the November 2014 presidential elections, the phenomenon of organized transportation of …

Because the professional organization of the elections is mostly connected with the capacity of the permanent electoral authority of mapping out the voting process, the uniform regulations which are enforced by the responsible electorate and …

The 2014 elections proved how the possible penal political decisions, the lack of reaction form BEC and the neglect of the decisions by MAE can be a barrier in the organization of the elections. Bold …