AUR demands compensation of 100,000 euros per day from the PSD, on the grounds that it stole the start of the electoral campaign. The law, to the advantage of the parties

In Romania, electoral advertising is prohibited outside the campaign, i.e. between May 10 and June 8, 2024. The decision was taken by a Decision of the Permanent Electoral Authority published in March 2024, in the Official Gazette. However, no one complies with these provisions, as a result all localities have been littered with posters and banners in favor of the candidates.

The law says that political advertising is not electoral advertising

In Vaslui, the county organization AUR sued the PSD, requesting that the election posters in favor of the candidates for the mayor’s office, Lucian Braniște and for the County Council, Ciprian Ionuț Trifan, be taken down, because they were posted weeks before the start campaign official.

In the request, those from the AUR are prejudiced by the electoral actions of the social democrats, counter-candidates in the local elections of June 9, 2024. As a result, they requested the payment of punitive damages in the amount of 100,000 euros for each day of delay, until to the effective lifting of the electoral board, considering that the principle of equal opportunities in the elections was violated. The action in court was filed by way of a presidential ordinance, a procedure that applies to urgent situations.

According to art. 20, para. 1 of the Decision on the approval of the electoral campaign financing guide, any written, audio or video material that meets the following conditions is considered propaganda:

• It refers directly to a clearly identified candidate or political party participating in the election
• It is used between May 10 and June 8, 2024, 07:00
• It has an electoral objective and is addressed to the general public
• It goes beyond the journalistic activity of informing the public

Romanian paradoxes: electoral promotion outside the campaign, prohibited and allowed at the same time

On the other hand, political advertising is also allowed in the periods between electoral campaigns, being provided for by Law 185/2013, regarding the placement and authorization of advertising means. The legislation differentiates between political and electoral advertising, which is prohibited between campaigns. In fact, the parties promoting their candidates hide behind the fact that the law is not very clear in differentiating the two types of messages.

Electoral advertising or promotion actions are regulated by the electoral legislation, which contains strict rules regarding the format of electoral propaganda materials, the place where they can be placed and the competence of the constituency electoral offices regarding the manner of conducting the electoral campaign. Therefore, the electoral legislation applies only to the advertising actions carried out by the electoral competitors in the electoral campaigns.

Basically, if it is not a campaign, the posters are not considered electoral, although it is obvious that their purpose is to promote a candidate.

The PSD argument: And AUR does the same

This was also the argument used by PSD Vaslui in court. The party’s lawyer says that their posters comply with the rules imposed by the AEP: not to encourage voting, not to show the “voted” stamp and not to specify the date of June 9. “It is obvious that our advertising materials respect these rules”the lawyer boasted in court.

In other words, the promotion of some candidates is not considered electoral advertising, if the above conditions are not met, says the PSD representative. This uses another argument: everyone does it, including AUR.

“It is obvious that AUR knows the laws applicable in Romania in the period before the start of the electoral campaign and does not confuse them with the laws applicable during the electoral campaign, otherwise they would not have littered the country with tents, banners and other advertising materials”it is stated in the conclusion of the meeting consulted by Fanatik.

The judges admit: “There are no legal provisions that prohibit political promotion outside the campaign”

The court decided to reject the request of the AUR, but only because it does not justify the emergency procedure of the presidential ordinance, given that it had to be accompanied by another action, which would judge the substance of the problem. But even the judges found that electoral advertising is not regulated outside the campaign. Under these conditions, the only institutions that can establish the legality of billboards with political messages are the local authorities, but they can only check that they are placed correctly and have all the permits.

“The court notes that there are no legal provisions that prohibit parties from promoting themselves outside of the electoral campaign period, by any means allowed by the laws that regulate the field of advertising.

The law on local elections only regulates the conduct of the electoral campaign, electoral advertising outside the campaign being regulated only by the legislation in the field of advertising”. it is shown in the reasoning of the court. The decision is not final, and can be appealed within five days from the date of pronouncement.