4. Is there a ban on corporate donations to candidates?

Availabel at: https://doi.org/10.25838/oaj-mip-2020158-166

Legal Situation on Donations to Candidates in Germany 
No explicit legal ban exists on donations to individual candidates in German law. The Political Parties Act (PartG) regulates donations primarily to political parties, not to individual candidates.
- For party-affiliated candidates, donations are typically treated as party donations, and thus the donation ban in § 25 PartG applies indirectly through party internal rules.
- For members of parliament, the Code of Conduct (Verhaltensregeln) refers to the PartG, meaning the donation ban also applies.
- For independent candidates, there is currently no clear legal regulation, creating a regulatory gap that could allow influence via direct donations.