Elections in Romania

President The President is elected in a two-round system for a five-year term. Candidates obtaining a majority of 50%+1 of all registered voters in the first round are declared the winner. If none of the candidates achieve this, then a run-off is held between the two contenders with the top scores in the first round. The candidate who obtains any majority of votes in the run-off is declared the winner. The term of the president is five years. Between 1992 and 2004 the term was of four years, but was increased following the 2003 Constitutional referendum. One person can serve a maximum of two terms, that may be consecutive. In order to be able to run for the Office of President a candidate must fulfill the following conditions: be a Romanian citizen, be at least 35 years of age (at least on the day of the election), and not have held the office for two terms since 1992, when the 1991 Constitution took effect. Parliament The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are elected in constituencies, by universal, equal, direct, secret, and freely expressed suffrage, on the basis of a list system and independent candidatures, according to the principle of closed party list proportional representation. The option for an identical election system of the two Chambers of Parliament confers them the same legitimacy, as both of them are the expression of the will of the same electoral body. The two Chambers have different numbers of members: the Chamber of Deputies is composed of 331 Deputies, and the Senate of 136 Senators. This differentiation is possible owing to the legal provision of a representation norm differing from one Chamber to the other and due to the seats allotted to the national minorities (a seat in the Chamber of Deputies for each minority) and to the Romanians living abroad (4 seats in the Chamber and 2 in the Senate). Thus, for the election of the Chamber of Deputies the representation norm is of one Deputy to 73,000 inhabitants, and for the election of the Senate, of one Senator to 168,000 inhabitants. the County Council Presidents have been indirectly elected by each County Council. To elect the Local, and County Councils, the closed party list proportional representation, with a 5% threshold of the votes at the constituency level (city, commune or county). == Voting procedures ==

Irrespective of the type of election, the vote is done by using paper and manual counting. The voter is required to prove his/hers identity using the Identity card (or the previous version, the Identity bulletin), or, for special reasons, the military ID or the passport. After (s)he signs in the permanent, supplemental, or special electoral list, (s)he is handed a voting ballot (buletin de vot) and a stamp that reads VOTAT YYYY TTT (voted); YYYY stands for the year the election is held, and TTT for the type of elections to be held: L for local elections (including partial), P presidential elections, PE for European Parliament election, R for referendums (R.V.U. was used in 2007). For the general election, up to now, there was no additional type indicator, as it is granted most importance. For the local and parliamentary elections, the voter can vote only at the polling station where (s)he has the permanent address (domiciliu), or the temporary residence (flotant) at least three months old. For the local election, the Romanians outside Romania cannot vote. For the parliamentary election they vote the candidates for the 43rd constituency. For the European Parliament and presidential elections the voters can vote at a different pooling station than the local and parliamentary elections, but only if (s)he is not in the home-town the voting day. Since the 2016 legislative election the Romanian electors residing abroad will be able to cast their vote via mail. The voting ballot is printed on newspaper paper, monochrome. All the candidates (or the full candidate list) are listed in a lottery type established order (first the parliamentary parties, than the non-parliamentary parties, and at the end, the independent candidates), each in a clearly designated rectangular that consists of the full party/alliance name and logo, and the full candidate name (or full list of candidates' names). Voters express their choice by stamping the rectangle of the party or independent candidate (s)he wishes to vote for. For referendums the same voting procedure is used. Each of the two options (YES – DA and NO – NU) are in a 5×5 cm square, YES on top and NO at the bottom, and the question voted for in the middle of the voting ballot. == Fairness ==

Freedom House in 2024 wrote that the legal framework "generally provides for fair and competitive elections". According to the Bertelsmann Transformation Index in 2024, Romanian elections "are generally free and fair, with occasional evidence of fraud, unethical campaigning or voter manipulation, especially in poor rural areas." Electoral irregularities and political clientelism have been documented in multiple Romanian elections. According to Politico in 2025, some local politicians have engaged in vote buying or threats to cut off constituents' income in order to get votes, and while this is illegal, "authorities have often turned a blind eye". A notable conviction for election fraud was that of Social Democratic Party minister Liviu Dragnea in 2015. == Recent elections ==

Election schedule == Latest elections ==

Presidential European Parliament Legislative The incumbent National Coalition for Romania (PSD and PNL) lost their majority in both chambers in the election, with far-right parties (AUR, SOS RO, and POT) making substantial gains at their expense. Chamber of Deputies {{Election results Senate Local ==Referendums==

The Constitution of Romania defines that a referendum has to be called to: • suspend the President from office (article 95), or • amend the Constitution (article 151) Moreover, the Constitution defines that a referendum can be called on matters of national interest by the President of Romania after consultation with Parliament (article 90). There were 8 referendums (and 1 local one) in post-communist Romania: • 2 constitutional referendums: in 1991 and 2003 • 2 presidential impeachment referendums: in May 2007 and in 2012 • voting system referendum in November 2007 • parliamentary reform referendum in 2009 • referendum regarding the definition of family and another one only in the Olt County to rename it to "Olt-Romanați County" in 2018 at the same time • referendum about justice and corruption in 2019 There was also 1 referendum in the Socialist Republic of Romania, 3 referendums in the Kingdom of Romania and 2 referendums in the Romanian United Principalities. ==See also==