Romania – between two elections

The epidemiological situation created by the novel coronavirus has altered the elections calendar in Romania, so the local elections, which were initially scheduled for June, were held at the end of September. 48% of voters took part in the ballot and the Permanent Election Authority has now published on its website the final results, with the exception of localities where a new ballot will be held. A map of results shows that the biggest opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, won 20 county council seats, the ruling National Liberal Party 17 and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania 4. The Liberals won, however, more votes overall, namely 34%. The Social Democrats won 30% and USR-PLUS 13%. The candidates supported by the centre-right alliance won the position of Bucharest mayor and three of the capital city's six sectors, but the Social Democrats have more mayors countrywide.

The results of the local elections are seen as a barometer for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled on 6th December. However, a bill has been submitted to postpone these elections for next year, in March. The bill was initiated by an independent MP and for now has been submitted for an opinion to the government's legislative council and social and economic council. A reply is expected within 30 days at the latest. The idea to postpone the elections is opposed by the Liberals, who are saying that the current Parliament, where the Social Democrats have a majority, no longer represents people's will. The Social Democrats say they are preparing for elections on 6th December, but they are not ruling out a postponement depending on the evolution of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, political parties have begun drawing up the lists of candidates for the diaspora, for which the deadline is 7th October. The Liberals say for these lists they are considering exclusively candidates from among the diaspora who have made their communities proud, whether university professors or business people. The Social Democratic Party also has a number of criteria for its diaspora candidates, which include communication skills, intellectual abilities, media exposure, integrity and leadership. The parliamentary elections will be held in the diaspora over the course of two days, on 5th and 6th December. Given that setting up polling stations in a number of countries with large ethnic Romanian communities will not be possible because of the coronavirus pandemic, the authorities in Bucharest are recommending Romanians living abroad to register for vote by mail. The registration deadline has been extended until 21st October.