ECIElection Campaign-Finance Index

§ 25 establishes a comprehensive statutory framework for contribution eligibility and limits, explicitly codified in statute rather than delegated to administrative discretion. The section enumerates specific donation amounts (€1,000 cash threshold, €35,000 reporting trigger, €500 unidentified-donor threshold) and enumerated categories of prohibited sources (foreign donations, public bodies, charities, certain corporate entities). All contribution limits and restrictions are grounded directly in statutory language.

“Spenden von außerhalb des Geltungsbereiches dieses Gesetzes, es sei denn, dass a) diese Spenden aus dem Vermögen eines Deutschen im Sinne des Grundgesetzes, eines Bürgers der Europäischen Union oder eines Wirtschaftsunternehmens, dessen Anteile sich zu mehr als 50 vom Hundert im Eigentum von Deutschen im Sinne des Grundgesetzes oder eines Bürgers der Europäischen Union befinden oder dessen Hauptsitz in einem Mitgliedstaat der Europäischen Union ist, unmittelbar einer Partei zufließen”

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 19a addresses the procedural mechanics of calculating and distributing state funding to parties based on votes and reported donations, with detailed deadlines and forfeiture penalties. It does not address independent expenditures or third-party spending rules at all. The section concerns only the allocation formula and timing for public party financing, not the regulation of external campaign spending.

The statute explicitly permits anonymous cash donations up to €1,000 (subsection 1) and imposes a clear statutory prohibition on donations exceeding €500 where the donor cannot be identified (subsection 2, clause 6). The law further mandates that unlawful donations under subsection 2 be forwarded immediately to the Bundestag president by the deadline for filing the annual financial report (subsection 4), creating a defined disposition for non-compliant anonymous contributions. This provides exhaustive statutory enumeration of both the permissible threshold for anonymous gifts and the mandatory handling of excessive unidentified donations.

§ PartG § 24(8) explicitly defines in statute the disclosure threshold of €3,300 for individual contributions, requiring separate reporting of contributions up to and above that amount. This establishes a clear, statutorily-grounded disclosure requirement with enumerated thresholds.

“Im Rechenschaftsbericht sind die Summe der Zuwendungen natürlicher Personen bis zu 3 300 Euro je Person sowie die Summe der Zuwendungen natürlicher Personen, soweit sie den Betrag von 3 300 Euro übersteigen, gesondert auszuweisen.”

§ 19a(3) enumerates a specific statutory filing deadline: parties must submit their financial report (Rechenschaftsbericht) by September 30 of the year following the reporting year, with a possible three-month extension. The statute further specifies consequences for failure to meet the deadline (loss of funding). This satisfies the procedural requirement for a clear, statutorily-grounded filing schedule.

“Die Partei hat ihren Rechenschaftsbericht bis zum 30. September des dem Rechenschaftsjahr folgenden Jahres beim Präsidenten des Deutschen Bundestages einzureichen. Der Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages kann die Frist um bis zu drei Monate verlängern.”

The statute explicitly requires disclosure of contributor name and address (or comparable identifying information) for donations exceeding €10,000 in a calendar year, satisfying the basic identity requirement. However, the statute does not mandate disclosure of occupation or employer information—only what is necessary for comparable identification of the person. This covers name and address but falls short of the full-identity standard (employer/occupation), placing it at score 1 rather than 2.

“Spenden, Mitgliedsbeiträge und Mandatsträgerbeiträge an eine Partei oder einen oder mehrere ihrer Gebietsverbände, deren Gesamtwert in einem Kalenderjahr (Rechnungsjahr) 10 000 Euro übersteigt, sind unter Angabe des Namens und der Anschrift des Zuwenders oder anderer Angaben, die eine Identifikation der Person vergleichbar ermöglichen, sowie der Gesamthöhe der Zuwendung im Rechenschaftsbericht zu verzeichnen.”

The section requires corrected reports to be published as Bundestag documents (Abs. 6), establishing a statutory publication requirement. However, the section provides no timeline ('within a defined time') for online publication, no specification of which online platform, and does not address the original filing deadline. The procedural clarity on public access timing and platform is incomplete.

“Berichtigte Rechenschaftsberichte sind ganz oder teilweise als Bundestagsdrucksache zu veröffentlichen.”

§ 31d PartG codifies criminal penalties for campaign-finance violations (false reporting, donation-splitting, non-forwarding of donations, and auditor misconduct), specifying imprisonment up to three years or fines, with enhanced penalties (up to five years) for aggravated cases. The statute clearly establishes both criminal grades and penalty ranges within the law itself, satisfying the requirement for statutorily-defined penalty schedules.

“wird mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu drei Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe bestraft”

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: Section 27a concerns procedural requirements for reporting advertising measures by third parties to political parties, but it does not address the appointment, composition, or independence of any enforcement body. The section imposes duties on private persons and parties regarding disclosure and donation acceptance, but does not establish or describe an independent enforcement institution or mechanism. Enforcement-body independence is not a topic addressed in this section.

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 23b addresses only the party's affirmative duty to self-report accounting errors to the Bundestag President and the conditions under which penalties are waived. It contains no provision granting private parties, citizens, or non-governmental entities a right of action to sue for campaign-finance violations. Enforcement is administrative (through the Bundestag President) rather than through private litigation.

Section 25(2)(3) explicitly prohibits donations from outside the scope of the law (foreign sources) in statute, with narrowly enumerated exceptions for EU citizens, Germans, and EU-registered companies with majority German/EU ownership. The prohibition is statutorily grounded and the permitted exceptions are defined with specificity, satisfying the procedural-clarity requirement regardless of policy position on foreign funding.

“Spenden von außerhalb des Geltungsbereiches dieses Gesetzes, es sei denn, dass a) diese Spenden aus dem Vermögen eines Deutschen im Sinne des Grundgesetzes, eines Bürgers der Europäischen Union oder eines Wirtschaftsunternehmens, dessen Anteile sich zu mehr als 50 vom Hundert im Eigentum von Deutschen im Sinne des Grundgesetzes oder eines Bürgers der Europäischen Union befinden oder dessen Hauptsitz in einem Mitgliedstaat der Europäischen Union ist, unmittelbar einer Partei zufließen”

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 31c addresses penalties for unlawfully accepted or undisclosed donations but does not itself establish rules governing indirect foreign-source contributions (foreign nationals acting through domestic entities, foreign-controlled corporate structures, etc.). The section enforces prior restrictions but does not enumerate the substantive criteria for identifying or blocking pass-through foreign funding. FOR.2 requires statutory rules addressing indirect channels; this section is a penalty provision referencing § 25 but does not establish the indirect foreign-source framework itself.

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 24 (Rechenschaftsbericht) governs the form and content of financial reports submitted by parties, including enumeration of income categories and mandatory disclosure of donations above specified thresholds. However, the section does not address verification procedures for foreign-source contributions, nor does it impose duties on parties to affirmatively verify that contributors are non-foreign. The reporting requirements do not include statutory procedures for committees to verify contributor citizenship or foreign status, relying instead on post-hoc disclosure rather than pre-contribution verification.

The statute explicitly requires parties to retain accounting records, books, balance sheets, and accountability reports for ten years, with the retention period beginning at the end of the fiscal year. This satisfies the statutory requirement for defined record-retention periods covering financial documentation.

“Rechnungsunterlagen, Bücher, Bilanzen und Rechenschaftsberichte sind zehn Jahre aufzubewahren. Die Aufbewahrungsfrist beginnt mit Ablauf des Rechnungsjahres.”

Section § 23a establishes a mandatory statutory audit framework whereby the Bundestag President reviews campaign-finance reports (Rechenschaftsberichte) for formal and substantive correctness. The statute mandates auditor access to party records and explicitly requires parties to grant full access and inspection rights to auditors appointed by the Bundestag President when triggered by concrete evidence of inaccuracies. This creates a clear, statutorily-grounded audit-access requirement with defined procedures, not merely administrative discretion.

“Die Partei hat dem vom Präsidenten des Deutschen Bundestages bestellten Wirtschaftsprüfer Zugang und Einsicht in die zur Prüfung erforderlichen Unterlagen und Belege zu gewähren.”