Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), there are laws on fundraising and spending that political parties must follow in the run-up to certain elections.
This guidance provides information on the regulated period, spending limits, campaign spending, reporting requirements and deadlines for the Northern Ireland Assembly and local elections in May 2027.
This guidance and the related documents we refer to apply to registered political parties only. The rules for candidates are different, and we issue separate guidance for candidates and their agents contesting the elections. We will publish this in the autumn.
When parties issue election material it must contain details known as an imprint. We publish separate guidance on imprints.
Terms and expressions we use
In this guidance, we use ‘must’ when we refer to a specific requirement. We use ‘should’ for items we consider to be minimum good practice, but which are not legal requirements.
We use ‘you’ or ‘the responsible person’ to refer to the person who is responsible for campaign spending. This will be the registered campaigns officer if one has been appointed, or the registered treasurer if not.
Translations and other formats
For information on obtaining this publication in another language or in a Braille version please contact the Electoral Commission: