PUBLIC OBJECTThe Party Gate

PUBLIC DOSSIER · POLITICS

PROPOSAL IN CONSULTATION · 21 AUGUST 2026

The Party Gate

From 3 to 100: who gets to start a political party?

On 21 August 2026, Romania's Permanent Electoral Authority put a draft law out for public consultation. It would raise the minimum number of founders from 3 to 100 and move the first review from Bucharest Tribunal to five-member AEP panels. For now, today's rule remains in place; the draft can still change or be withdrawn. Source S1

THE READING KEYA number makes sense only when we know what it counts, which gate it guards, who decides and where the decision can be challenged.
See the four gates Jump to sources
TodayThree founding members · Bucharest Tribunal
In the draftOne hundred members · first review at AEP
The stakeEach stage has a different threshold and decision-maker
Statusin consultation · today's rule remains in force

01 · PLACE THE NUMBER

A number needs its unit.

A hundred looks easy to compare with 3, 500 or 2,000. Parties do not enter public life through the same door. Some figures count founders. Others count members, signatures or votes. Put them in one line and you get apparent precision with the wrong answer.

013founding membersRomania · current rule
02100founding membersAEP draft · proposed
03100adult citizensCroatia · founding
04200,000signaturesRomania · presidential candidacy

Every number in the table comes with its unit. "No special numerical threshold" describes a party's legal birth. It says nothing about elections or the distribution of public money. Source S8 Source S10

02 · THE LAW'S MEMORY

The threshold has not moved in a straight line.

In less than two decades, Romania moved from 25,000 founders to 3. AEP now proposes 100. Between those numbers sits the Constitutional Court's 2015 decision, which left the choice of threshold to the legislature and drew a limit: the burden must be justified as proportionate. Source S3

  1. 1996
    10,000

    Law no. 27/1996 S6

    15 counties, with at least 300 founders in each

  2. 2003
    25,000

    Law no. 14/2003 S3

    18 counties and Bucharest, with at least 700 in each

  3. 2015
    Court

    Decision no. 75 S3

    The Court found the old threshold excessive and disproportionate

  4. 2015
    3

    Law no. 114/2015 S4

    A party can start with three founding members

  5. 2026
    100?

    AEP draft S1

    A proposed threshold and a new first reviewer

03 · THE CENTRAL MECHANISM

A party passes through more than one gate.

Starting a party answers one question: does the state recognise it? Then come the ballot, seats and public money. Each stage has its own threshold and its own decision-maker. Open a gate and see what it measures.

Open the panels. They remain usable with JavaScript off.

01 Legal existence Can you become a party recognised by the state?

This is where the number that started the debate sits. The current law starts with at least three founding members. The AEP draft asks for 100 and moves the first review from Bucharest Tribunal to five-member AEP panels. A challenge would go to the Bucharest Court of Appeal. Source S5 Source S1

What the number counts founding members

ComparisonRomania: 3 now · 100 proposed · Croatia: 100 adults

S5S1S12

02 Ballot access Can you compete in an election?

A party's birth and a candidate's entry into an election are different moments. In parliamentary elections, Romania requires 5% nationally or 20% in each of at least four constituencies. For the presidency, a candidate must bring 200,000 support signatures. Source S7 Source S8

What this gate measures votes, percentages and signatures

ComparisonA registered party does not automatically reach the ballot.

S7S8

03 Seats Can votes become representation?

Here, votes have to become seats. An organisation can exist legally and enter a contest without passing the threshold that produces representation. The founding number tells us about the party's beginning. An election result tells us about the support it has gathered. Source S7 Source S10

What is measured votes and the rule that turns them into seats

ComparisonA party's birth and its representation are measured separately.

S7S10

04 Public money Can you receive public funding?

Subsidies follow a different logic. Romania's Law no. 334/2006 links them to votes and seats. The money question comes after the party exists and competes. A founding threshold cannot answer it on its own. Source S9

What is measured votes, seats and funding rules

ComparisonA founding threshold is not a subsidy criterion.

S9

04 · THE COMPARISON MAP

Countries put the threshold in different places.

The rows below align only the starting gate, where the sources describe it clearly. The "unit" column matters as much as the number. Source S10

Starting threshold for party existence or registration. The table does not measure access to power.
SystemAt the startUnitWho checksWhat to keep separate
Romania · now At least 3 founding members Bucharest Tribunal Today's rule; elections have their own thresholds. S5
Romania · AEP draft 100 eligible founding members; Romanian citizens with voting rights; representation of both sexes AEP, through five-member panels; challenge at the Bucharest Court of Appeal Proposal. The text is not law. S1
Croatia 100 adult Croatian citizens with legal capacity Ministry of Justice The number matches. The conditions and institution differ. S12
Germany No special numerical threshold founding under the association framework; the Party Act sets no number Association framework; election notification is a separate stage Birth without a numerical threshold does not remove electoral rules. S13
Greece At least 200 citizens with voting rights signing the statute or founding declaration Prosecutor at the Areios Pagos, where the declaration is filed Founding threshold. Electoral stages are separate. S19
Bulgaria 500 + 2,500 500 founders; at least 2,500 members Sofia City Court Founding, maintaining membership and collecting election signatures are separate stages. S15 S18
Lithuania 2,000 members; lists are monitored over time Ministry of Justice and Register of Legal Entities The register also checks membership over time. S16

05 · THE PROCEDURAL KEY

When the number changes, so does who holds the key.

Today, the first door is opened by a court. The draft puts the file on AEP's desk, where five panel members would examine it. A challenge would go to the Bucharest Court of Appeal. The threshold and the institution applying it arrive together.

Four questions worth asking

  1. 01

    What problem is the threshold meant to solve?

    Are you trying to stop family parties, clone organisations or the use of public benefits? The threshold should show what problem it solves and why it fits.

  2. 02

    Why 100?

    Foreign comparison helps when the numbers measure the same stage and the same category of people. Otherwise, it gives context, not justification.

  3. 03

    Why registration?

    If the concern is ballot access or public money, why place the burden at the first gate? A more precise threshold may belong where the problem appears.

  4. 04

    What stays open to opposition?

    Public criteria, written reasons, clear time limits, conflict-of-interest rules and judicial review that can repair a bad decision.

06 · WHAT REMAINS

The question that remains

Before asking how large the threshold is, ask which gate it guards.

01Number02Unit03Gate04Decision-maker05Remedy

A threshold deserves judgment alongside the problem it is meant to solve and the burden it places on pluralism. In the AEP draft, 100 arrives with a new registration procedure and sits before electoral tests that already exist.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

The draft is in public consultation. The publicly reported timetable announces a debate on 27 August and comments until 20 September 2026. Read the reported timetable.

SOURCES · METHOD · LIMIT

Where the numbers come from

The reference date is 21 August 2026. The AEP text is a proposal in consultation. This comparison puts the same stage side by side where the sources allow it and keeps the rest separate. When a number cannot be checked against another number in the same category, the page says so.

How I made the comparison

  • I started with Romanian legal texts and official sources for the countries compared.
  • I kept founders, members, signatures, votes and seats separate. One score would have hidden the differences.
  • When two figures appear for one country, I kept both and marked the missing stage.

Source register

  1. S1

    Draft Political Parties Law

    primary document · S1

    The text AEP published for consultation.

    Source
  2. S2

    Document: AEP proposes a new Political Parties Law

    documentary source · S2

    The public summary and the reported timetable for debate and comments.

    Source
  3. S3

    Constitutional Court, Decision no. 75/2015

    case law · S3

    The 25,000-founder rule and the Court's reasoning on proportionality.

    Source
  4. S4

    Law no. 114/2015

    statute · S4

    The law that lowered the threshold to at least three founders.

    Source
  5. S5

    Law no. 14/2003, consolidated text

    statute · S5

    The current rule in Article 19(3): at least three founding members.

    Source
  6. S6

    Law no. 27/1996

    statute · S6

    The 1996 rule: 10,000 founders from at least 15 counties, at least 300 in each.

    Source
  7. S7

    Law no. 208/2015

    statute · S7

    The thresholds for entering Parliament.

    Source
  8. S8

    Law no. 370/2004

    statute · S8

    The rule for presidential candidacies: 200,000 supporters.

    Source
  9. S9

    Law no. 334/2006

    statute · S9

    The criteria for subsidies linked to votes and seats.

    Source
  10. S10

    OSCE/ODIHR, Opinion on Montenegro's Law on Political Parties

    comparative opinion · S10

    Comparative passage on registration thresholds. Greece appears among countries without special requirements compared with associations; its national rule must be read separately.

    Source
  11. S11

    OSCE/ODIHR, Guidelines on Political Party Regulation

    standards guide · S11

    Calls for thresholds that are reasonable, justified and compatible with pluralism.

    Source
  12. S12

    Croatia Ministry of Justice, party register

    official source · S12

    The founding rule: at least 100 adult Croatian citizens.

    Source
  13. S13

    German Federal Returning Officer, founding a political party

    official source · S13

    The official guidance and Party Act set no special numerical minimum.

    Source
  14. S14

    Hellenic Parliament, Constitution of Greece, Article 29

    constitutional text · S14

    Protects the right of citizens with voting rights to found and join political parties.

    Source
  15. S15

    Bulgaria Central Election Commission, Political Parties Act

    statute · S15

    The rules for founders, members and the party register.

    Source
  16. S16

    Lithuania Ministry of Justice, political organisations

    official source · S16

    The 2,000-member rule and membership checks over time.

    Source
  17. S17

    Telex, AEP proposal and reported comparison

    secondary source · S17

    Reports the figures used in the comparison around the AEP draft. It is a secondary source, used with the warning on this page.

    Source
  18. S18

    Bulgaria Central Election Commission, Decision no. 4438-NS

    official election act · S18

    Shows that election signatures are a stage separate from party formation.

    Source
  19. S19

    Hellenic Parliament, Law no. 3023/2002, Article 29

    statute · S19

    Requires the statute or founding declaration to be signed by at least 200 citizens with voting rights and filed with the prosecutor at the Areios Pagos.

    Source