The subsidy scheme for local political parties helps to strengthen local democracy and ensures greater transparency regarding the finances of political parties. Political parties play an important role in local politics. It is therefore important that they have the funds to carry out activities such as educating and training prospective councillors and organising meetings for residents.
This scheme anticipates the Political Parties Act. That Act sets out how local political parties will be funded in future and how they will be held to account for their finances. The subsidy scheme is therefore temporary and will remain in force – for as long as the local authority receives funding for this purpose via the Local Authority Fund – until that Act comes into force.
The grant is intended for local political parties that took part in the 2026 local elections and secured at least one seat.
The grant applicant must ensure that the following information is published on the party’s website:
- the association’s articles of association;
- a list of any affiliated institutions;
- the rules governing the nomination and appointment of board members and members of other official bodies of the party;
- the conditions for membership and for appointment to these bodies;
- the names of the members of these bodies;
- the way in which candidates for elections are selected and, where applicable, the criteria used in that process;
- a financial report for the previous calendar year, to be submitted by 30 June at the latest;
- an activity report detailing the activities carried out with the grant, by 31 August at the latest.
In addition, the party must maintain accurate and reliable financial records. These records must be retained for at least seven years. They must, as a minimum, include the following information:
- receive grants;
- receive gifts with a total value of more than €250 per calendar year, including the name and address of the donor and the date of receipt;
- other income;
- the party’s assets;
- debts exceeding €5,000, including the creditor’s name and address and the date on which the debt arose.
All the information mentioned must be made public before the end of the grant period, by 1 July 2027 at the latest. If the party fails to comply with these obligations, the grant may be withdrawn or (partly) reclaimed.
Local political parties can submit an online application using the button above.
Before you start the application, please check that you meet the eligibility criteria and have all the details listed below to hand:
• The name or abbreviation of the list of candidates, as it appeared at the top of the list during the most recent elections.
• The number of seats allocated to the list of candidates when the election results were finalised.
• The URL of the political party’s website. The relevant information about the local political party must also be published on this website.
• The contact details of the contact person for this grant application.
• The IBAN account number and the name of the account holder to which the grant can be paid.
Please also attach the following documents:
• A copy of the list of candidates submitted for the most recent elections.
• If the application is submitted by someone who is not authorised under the articles of association to represent the organisation: a letter of authorisation confirming that this person is authorised to submit the application on behalf of the organisation.
• In the case of a joint list of candidates: a declaration signed by both legal entities setting out the number of full seats allocated to each party for the purposes of this grant application.
Please ensure that all the required information and supporting documents are complete. An incomplete application may cause delays in processing your application.
You will be notified of our decision within 8 weeks of us receiving your application.
The political party receives €982 per seat.
You are applying for a grant that is approved immediately. This means that you will receive the grant amount straight away and will not need to submit a separate application for approval at the end of the grant year. Nor will you need to send any supporting documents to the local authority.
You are free to decide how to spend the grant, provided that the funds are used for one or more of the activities listed in Article 5 of the grant scheme.
At the end of the grant year, you must account for the grant by publishing a financial report and an activity report on the website. The grant must be spent in full within the grant year for which it was awarded.