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Summary
In an election year, the government is rewriting the central law on how political actors are financed. In a context where the ruling party commands almost unlimited resources, the amendments make it harder for new political actors to raise money and tighten the scrutiny of even small donors. And they continue a familiar pattern: legislation reworked in the name of ODIHR recommendations and EU accession, but without genuine public debate or consultation - itself , unmet for several cycles.
Enforcement of all this rests on two institutions - the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the Tax Administration - neither of which has so far shown itself to be efficient or independent enough to inspire confidence.
Start here
This law changes how in Serbia raise and spend political money, both in their regular work and during election campaigns. It reduces the limits on from citizens and legal persons, introduces , and, for the first time, regulates run by outside actors. Many of the financial limits are measured in , so they automatically adjust with the performance of the economy.
For new parties and , the tighter donation limits are likely to have the greatest impact because these actors typically rely more heavily on private fundraising; their one clear gain is that they no longer have to post an . A new tax-control rule adds to the squeeze: anyone who donates above a is automatically reported to the Tax Administration and subject to tax control, which may discourage political donations.
Most of the changes are presented as implementing recommendations from - two of them priority recommendations, the rest non-priority - for example on , and . ODIHR's central priority recommendation - an inclusive, consensus-based process - remains unmet.
Tap a highlighted term (orange) or recommendation (green) to see its meaning here.Term
What the law introduces
Political entities may borrow up to 25% of the annual funds they receive from the state budget. Loans taken for regular work must be repaid within two years, and loans or credit taken for regular work may not be used to finance an election campaign.
Public bodies at every level, and the organisations they found, must make services and goods available to all political entities on equal terms, whether free of charge or for a fee, and may not provide them above their market value. Every individual decision to grant use of a service or goods is published on the provider's website, and each institution adopts internal rules governing this within 60 days of the law entering into force.
The ceiling on what a legal person may contribute for regular work falls from 30 to 10 average monthly salaries, and the ceiling for a natural person is set at 5. The law introduces the concept of a related company and limits its giving, and bars the same person from contributing both personally and through a company they own. Where a natural or legal person has already contributed for regular work in a calendar year, its permitted campaign contribution is reduced by half.
For the first time, the law defines third parties (natural persons, legal persons and others) and regulates campaigns they run. A third party that spends more than 25% of an average monthly salary must register with the Agency, and total third-party spending is capped at 10 average monthly salaries. Third parties may conclude contracts only in their own name. State bodies, publicly owned entities and foreign persons without the right to vote in Serbia may not run such campaigns. Expressing views on a matter of public interest is not treated as a third-party campaign, provided the activity does not promote or contest political entities' electoral programmes; the law lists public-interest matters as human rights, environmental protection, the rule of law, anti-corruption, social issues, education, healthcare and the economy. Campaign material distributed by a third party must carry the third party's mark, the service provider's name, and the name of the political entity it benefits.
Because that boundary depends on how the Agency applies it, there is a risk in both directions: political promotion dressed up as public-interest expression, or genuine civil-society advocacy and get-out-the-vote work captured as a third-party campaign.
The law caps campaign spending by type of election: EUR 6 million for presidential and parliamentary elections, EUR 1.5 million for provincial elections, and EUR 7 million for a presidential election held in two rounds.
Political parties and groups of citizens not represented in the National Assembly, a provincial assembly or a local assembly are exempt from posting an election guarantee to access the first portion of public campaign funds. Entities that do not submit a preliminary report to the Agency do not receive the second portion.
A company may not promote a political entity without a prior service agreement, whether on its premises, at its events, or through its channels; the public-information work of media founders is exempt. The prohibition on political entities reposting third parties' promotional activity on their websites and social media during a campaign now sits in the article on unlawful campaign activity.
Political entities that lack the funds or capacity to maintain a website may publish their annual financing report by another means, such as social media or an official gazette. The data in the report must be published in a format that can be searched, analysed and downloaded, and the report is submitted electronically as well as in writing.
The deadline for the preliminary campaign-cost report is brought closer to election day (up to five days after voting day) and the period it covers is extended. Publication deadlines are shortened - two days for the preliminary report and five for the final one - the data must be in an open format, and the final report also shows the second portion of allocated public funds.
The law sets out the Agency's general competences in a dedicated article and obliges banks to submit the data the law prescribes, to support the Agency's oversight of financial reports.
After it completes control of the annual reports, the Agency sends the Tax Administration data on providers of financial resources, goods and services. The tax-control plan must include donors who give a political entity 50% of the maximum permitted contribution, and the Agency notifies the Tax Administration as soon as it observes an irregularity.
This threshold can deter donors in practice: a contribution above a relatively low amount automatically exposes the donor to tax control, which may put citizens and businesses off supporting political actors, especially the opposition - so a measure meant to strengthen oversight could shrink the legal, reported financing it monitors.
The law sets deadlines for the Agency's action, especially during campaigns: eight days to decide in cases opened on its own initiative during a campaign, and fifteen days to decide on a complaint outside a campaign. Decisions are final and open to an administrative dispute; the Agency files its response to the Administrative Court within 24 hours and publishes the court's decisions within eight days.
The Agency issues a warning measure for breaches that have not caused more serious harmful consequences. If an entity repeats the same breach within a year, the Agency files for misdemeanour proceedings. A warning measure is published within eight days.
The law aligns the misdemeanour provisions with the new obligations and introduces new misdemeanours for the responsible person in public-administration bodies.
A request to suspend the transfer of funds from public sources must be published within 15 days.
The law introduces a dedicated article setting aside funds to encourage political entities to involve women more actively in their work.
What it means for new political actors
Registered parties vs new groups of citizens: an unequal footing
The rules apply to all "political entities," but registered parties and groups of citizens (ad hoc voter associations formed for a single election) are not on an equal footing - and some amendments widen the gap:
- Regular-work money can flow into the campaign. Established parties receive public funding for regular work and can channel it into campaigns; a group of citizens formed for one election has no such money to carry in.
- Borrowing is, in practice, closed to new groups. The 25% borrowing cap is calculated on budget funding a party has; a group of citizens can borrow only for the campaign, through its responsible person, if a bank agrees - which in practice essentially does not happen.
- Tighter private donations hit newcomers hardest. Lower ceilings (5 salaries for an individual, 10 for a legal person) and related-company limits squeeze the private money that new political actors depend on, while the public-funding advantage of established parties is untouched.
The clear counterweight is the abolition of the election guarantee for the non-represented, which improves their access to the first tranche of public funds. On balance the deepest inequalities are structural and predate these amendments; the amendments mainly tighten the private-money side, so on the money new political actors can actually raise, the field tilts a little further against them.
Key terms
Political entity
A political party, coalition or group of citizens the law applies to.
Contribution
Anything of value given to a political entity, in money or in kind.
Average monthly salary
The reference unit for many limits, based on the net average for the previous calendar year, so amounts track the economy.
Third party
A person or organisation, not connected to a political entity, that runs a paid campaign to influence an election.
Third-party campaign
Paid activity by a third party above the registration threshold, aimed at influencing an election - subject to registration, a spending cap and reporting.
Campaign spending limit
A cap on how much a political entity may spend on a campaign, set by type of election.
Election guarantee
A deposit a party had to put up in advance to receive the first instalment of public campaign funds: returned if it wins enough votes (at least 1%, or 0.2% for minority lists), but used to repay the funds if it does not. It was a hurdle for smaller and new entities, which are now exempt.
Group of citizens
An ad hoc association of voters formed for a single election; unlike a registered party it has no year-round public funding.
Public-interest expression
Views on matters like human rights, the environment, the rule of law, anti-corruption, social issues, education, healthcare and the economy - not a third-party campaign as long as they do not promote or contest a party's electoral programme.
ODIHR recommendations
After observing an election, ODIHR publishes a final report with recommendations for improving future elections. Since 2020 it has issued 109 recommendations for Serbia, 35 of them flagged as "priority." They appear a few months after election day; these amendments respond to several of them.
Tax-control threshold
The point at which a donor is automatically reported to the Tax Administration and subject to tax control: 50% of the maximum permitted contribution.
ODIHR recommendations behind the law
The fulfilment status shown here is CRTA's assessment of whether these amendments meet each recommendation.
"To ensure equal campaigning conditions, authorities should implement measures that fully enforce the right of all electoral stakeholders to access and use public premises for campaigning on equal terms."
"Consideration could be given to amending the legal framework to clarify treatment of loans and evaluation of the value of non-monetary contributions, and to lowering the limits for private contributions to political parties."
"To enhance the transparency of campaign finances, previous ODIHR and GRECO recommendations should be addressed, including lowering donation limits, and introducing requirements to submit and publish financial reports prior to election day."
"To promote equal campaign opportunities, consideration could be given to waiving the deposit requirement for the political parties and citizen groups not represented in the parliament and local assemblies as a precondition of the first instalment of public funds for campaigning."
"To ensure legal certainty and campaign finance accountability, the legislation should be further reviewed to address gaps and prior ODIHR recommendations, including by explicit regulation of third-party campaigning. The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption should proactively investigate and sanction campaign spending by unauthorized entities."
"To ensure legal certainty and campaign finance accountability, the legislation should be further reviewed to address gaps and prior ODIHR and GRECO recommendations, including by explicit regulation of third-party campaigning and provisions on effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions for violations and inadequate reporting. To allow effective implementation, the Criminal Code should be brought in line with the Law on Financing of Political Activities."
"To enhance a level playing field among contestants during the campaign and in line with good electoral practice, establishing by law reasonable and justifiable limits to campaign expenditures should be considered."
"To promote a level playing field among contestants, consideration should be given to introducing a campaign expenditure limit. Legal deadlines for distributing public funding for election campaigns should be adjusted to allow meaningful possibilities for campaigning. Safeguards against misuse of public funds allocated for campaign should be introduced in the law."
"The law should prescribe a graduated system of proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, and irregularities should be sanctioned."
"The Anti-Corruption Agency should be obliged by law to identify violations proactively and in a timely manner, and respond to complaints by issuing formal decisions, subject to a judicial review. The law should prescribe expedited deadlines for the entire dispute resolution process related to campaign finance violations."
"Additional mechanisms and incentives should be established to encourage political parties to promote women's participation in political life, increase their visibility during electoral campaigns and advance their role in politics."
