This paper focuses upon an extremely rich and important theme for improving political life, the financing of electoral campaigns. First the paper presents various types of financing electoral campaigns in some European countries with a consolidated democracy, and then provides an analysis of legislation for financing electoral campaigns in Romania.
The need to finance any electoral campaign can be understood and accepted only if the relationship between civil society and democracy is understood. Is control over the financing of the electoral campaign the biggest problem for the functioning of political parties in Romania? And if so, once the legislation has been changed accordingly, will democracy work better and will the electorate show more respect for the political class? This paper tries to provide an answer to these questions which are raised by citizens, civil society and the political class alike.
The conclusion is that in order to improve the system of campaign financing, which is essential for improving political life in general, the use of funds should be strictly controlled and monitored. Only by instituting these procedures will political parties and their representatives become more responsible and accountable tot the electorate. Any source of revenue during the electoral campaign, whether public or private, must be known by the electorate. Equally, the destination of campaign funds and the way in which they are spent must be made public because political party activities are public activities.