Next Romanian parliamentary election

Following the previous legislative elections held in December 2020, the Cîțu Cabinet was appointed, backed by a centre-right coalition of three Romanian political parliamentary parties as follows: the conservative liberal National Liberal Party (PNL), the progressive liberal/neoliberal USR PLUS (which subsequently switched back to the old USR acronym in late 2021), and the Hungarian minority-oriented Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ).[1]

The Cîțu Cabinet fell in November 2021 after a record-voted motion of no confidence (the most signed one in the political history of post-1989 Romania). Shortly afterwards, the Ciucă Cabinet, backed by the National Coalition for Romania (CNR) comprising the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ), was appointed and it lasted until June 2023. On the 15 June 2023, the Ciolacu Cabinet was invested by vote in the Parliament. The governmental coalition was also reduced to two main parties, after the recent withdrawal of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ), a political organization representing the Hungarian minority in Romania, which subsequently voted against the Ciolacu Cabinet.

In Romania, the President also plays an active role in national politics, in spite of the constitutional prerogatives which hold that he should act as an arbiter and/or mediator instead, also not being affiliated with any political party during his term(s), formally/officially or in any other regards as well. Following the December 2019 presidential election, Klaus Iohannis, a former president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), was re-elected for another five years, being supported by the PNL and the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGDR/DFDR). Nonetheless, he is not eligible for a third consecutive term in 2024 or any longer in the future for that matter.

Both parliamentary and presidential terms will end in late 2024. Hence, both election types could be held on the same days, which would be the first time for such an electoral concatenation in Romania since the 2004 general election.[2] Nonetheless, as of late, this proposal seems very unlikely, as it has to be approved in the parliament and so far there has not been any consensus reached upon this matter between the main governing political parties.

On 18 December 2019, the head of the AEP stated that internet voting would be implemented for the 2024 electoral year.[3]

In July 2021, the nationalist[17] Romanian Village Party (RoSAT), led by Marian Vișu-Iliescu, was launched, claiming to represent the interests of peasants, ignored by the major parties.[18]

On 19 September 2021, former PSD president Liviu Dragnea, along with former ally Codrin Ștefănescu, launched the Alliance for the Homeland (Romanian: Alianța pentru Patrie, ApP), a split-off from PSD and "an alternative" to it according to both.[19]

On 3 October 2021, former PNL Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who had just been defeated for the leadership of the PNL by Florin Cîțu at the 2021 PNL party congress, stated that he is willing "to create a new political construction which would be ready to continue PNL's legacy".[20][21] In this regard, at that time it was thought that he could be following Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, another former national liberal Prime Minister who subsequently left the PNL in order to establish his own political party, more specifically the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR), subsequently known as the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) after its merger with the Conservative Party (PC), a now defunct political party which was eventually absorbed by the PNL during late March 2022.[22]

In addition, before further concrete steps on behalf of Orban, various commentators stated that Orban's faction could part ways with the main PNL should he not be designated PM after Cîțu's dismissal by the Parliament (which also occurred in the meantime). Subsequently, after PNL started negotiations with the PSD, more and more MPs resigned from the PNL and joined Orban's faction in the Parliament. Orban's new party was officially registered in December 2021 and is called "Force of the Right" (or FD for short).[23]

In November 2021, a new party called NOW (Romanian: ACUM) was formed. It has a progressive and green ideology.[24]

Additionally, in November 2021 the S.O.S. Romania party was founded by Maricel Viziteu, Adeluța and Gabriel Gib. However, it became later known on the Romanian political scene in May 2022, after senator Diana Iovanovici Șoșoacă, elected on the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) list, joined the party, and eventually became its leader.[25]

Former PSD president and Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă has, in the meantime, become president of the Nation People Together (NOI) party.[26]

Former independent/technocratic Prime Minister and PLUS/USR PLUS/USR member (as well as former USR president) Dacian Cioloș officially quit the USR on 31 May 2022 to form a brand new party called REPER.[27] Several MEPs (more specifically 4) who have been previously elected on the lists of the 2020 USR PLUS Alliance at the 2019 European Parliament election in Romania have sided with Dacian Cioloș for his newly established political project, but still remain affiliated with the Renew group in the European Parliament. REPER can thus be considered (and is, in actuality) a splinter of USR.

The Green Party (PV) was also relaunched[28] under the new name of the Green Party (The Greens) - (Romanian: Partidul Verde - Verzii)). The party is currently led by two co-presidents, more specifically Marius Lazăr and Lavinia Cosma (former USR member between 2016 and 2019). The party first appeared in the polls in the beginning of 2023.[29]

In late September 2023, PNL vice-president and deputy Ben Oni Ardelean resigned from the party and announced that he is initiating a new political project.[30] Consequently, he recently launched an allegedly conservative political party called Hope's Movement (Romanian: Mișcarea Speranței) for the disillusioned electorate in Romania.[31]

In May 2022, the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚCD) announced that it will prepare a new political alliance with the Alliance for the Homeland (ApP, formerly known under the acronym PAINE)[32] for the forthcoming Romanian parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in late 2024. The two parties will allegedly form a so-called "sovereignist" block which will oppose the National Coalition for Romania (CNR).[33] In late August 2022 however, Liviu Dragnea, strongly associated in the past with the party at an unofficial level, had decided to indefinitely distance himself from the ApP.[34]

In June 2023, incumbent USR leader Cătălin Drulă stated that the Save Romania Union (USR) wants to form a right-wing pole able to win the 2024 elections.[35] The alleged right-wing pole is envisaged to form around the USR and become the winner of all the elections scheduled in 2024 in Romania, according to the incumbent USR leader. In these regards, discussions have already been carried out between USR and the People's Movement Party (PMP).[36] The right-wing alliance proposed by the USR is presented as an alternative to the current ruling CNR coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL). The respective right-wing or centre-right alliance/electoral block might also include the Force of the Right (FD). It was later on reported in October 2023 by a USR member that the Force of the Right (FD) will be included in the respective alliance/electoral block at national level as well as the fact that he does not exclude punctual future collaborations on several political measures with the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ).[37]

On 4 July 2023, the Socialist Romania Alliance, formed by the Romanian Socialist Party (PSR) and the Social Democratic Workers' Party was registered.[38]

The 330 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected by several methods: 308 are elected from 42 multi-member constituencies based on counties and Bucharest, using proportional representation, four are elected using proportional representation from a constituency representing Romanians living abroad. Parties must pass a threshold of 5% of the national vote or at least 20% of the vote in four constituencies. Further seats (currently 18) can be added for ethnic minority groups that compete in the elections and pass a special (lower) threshold (calculated as 10% of the votes needed to obtain one of the regular 312 seats).[39]

The 136 members of the Senate are also elected using party-list proportional representation, but from 43 constituencies based on the 41 counties (a total of 121 seats), Bucharest (13 seats), and one for Romanians living abroad (two seats).[39]

The graphic below details the current overall voting intention of the Romanian electorate for the forthcoming 2024 Romanian parliamentary elections, with aggregate data correct as of mid June 2023:

  PSD

  PNL

  USR

  AUR

  UDMR

  PMP

  PRO

  ALDE[lower-alpha 9]

  PUSL

  PER

  ApP

  FD

  REPER

  PV

• Elections in Romania
• Parliament of Romania
• List of political parties in Romania
• Politics of Romania