Politics of Romania

Politics of Romania Politica României
Coat of arms of Romania
Polity type	Unitary semi-presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of Romania
Legislative branch
Name	Parliament
Type	Bicameral
Meeting place	Palace of the Parliament
Upper house
Name	Senate
Presiding officer	Anca Dragu, President of the Senate
Lower house
Name	Chamber of Deputies
Presiding officer	Ludovic Orban, President of the Chamber of Deputies
Executive branch
Head of State
Title	President
Currently	Klaus Iohannis
Appointer	Direct popular vote
Head of Government
Title	Prime Minister
Currently	Florin Cîțu
Appointer	President
Cabinet
Name	Government of Romania
Current cabinet	Cîțu Cabinet
Leader	Prime Minister
Deputy leader	Deputy Prime Minister
Appointer	President
Headquarters	Victoria Palace
Ministries	18
Judicial branch
Name	Judiciary of Romania
High Court of Cassation and Justice
Chief judge	Corina Corbu
Constitutional Court

Politics of Romania
show Constitution Referendums 1991 (adoption) 2003 (amendments) 2015 (amendments) Constitutional Court
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show Political parties Parliamentary National Liberal Party (PNL) Social Democratic Party (PSD) Save Romania Union (USR) Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (PLUS) Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) Humanist Power Party (PPU) Romanian Nationhood Party (PNR) Other ethnic-minority parties Non-parliamentary People's Movement Party (PMP) PRO Romania (PRO) Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) United Romania Party (PRU) Greater Romania Party (PRM) Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚ-CD) Ecologist Party of Romania (PER) Green Party (PV)
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Romania's political framework is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic where the Prime Minister is the head of government while the President represents the country internationally, signs some decrees, approves laws promulgated by parliament and nominations as head of state. Romania has a multi-party system, with legislative power vested in the government and the two chambers of Parliament: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. From 1948 until 1989, the Communist rule political structure took place in the framework of a one-party socialist republic governed by the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) as its only legal party.

Romania's 1991 constitution (amended in 2003) proclaims it a democratic and social republic, deriving its sovereignty from the people. According to the constitution, "Human dignity, civic rights and freedoms, the unhindered development of human personality, justice, and political pluralism are supreme and guaranteed values."

The constitution provides for a President, a Parliament, a Constitutional Court and a separate court system which includes the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The right to vote is granted to all citizens over 18 years of age.

The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Romania as a "flawed democracy" in 2016.^[1]

Executive branch[]

Klaus Iohannis, current President of Romania since 21 December 2014

The president is elected by popular vote for a maximum of two five-year terms (four-year terms until 2004). S/he is head of state (charged with safeguarding the constitution, foreign affairs, and the proper functioning of public authority), supreme commander of the armed forces and chairperson of the Supreme Council of National Defense. According to the constitution, s/he acts as a mediator among the state's power centers and between the state and society. The president nominates the prime minister after consultation with the party holding an absolute majority in Parliament or, if there is no such majority, with all the parties in Parliament.

Ambiguity in the Constitution of Romania (Article 85 (1), Article 103 (1))^[2] may lead to situations where a coalition of parties obtaining an absolute majority in Parliament, or a party holding a relative majority in Parliament, would be unable to nominate a prime minister because the president would refuse the nomination (with no party holding an absolute majority in Parliament). According to Article 103(1), "unless no such majority exists", interpreted by the president as "unless no such party exists" (although an absolute majority may be formed by one party, a coalition of parties or an alliance).

In the 2008 parliamentary elections,^[3] the Alliance PSD+PC won 33.09 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 34.16 percent of the seats in the Senate. The PNL won 18.57 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 18.74 percent of the seats in the Senate, giving both parties a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. However, the president nominated a member of the PDL (which won less than 32.36 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 33.54 percent of the seats in the Senate. The nominated prime minister chooses the other members of the government, and the government and its program must be confirmed by a vote of confidence from Parliament.

Legislative branch[]

The national legislature is a bicameral parliament (Romanian: Parlament), consisting of the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaților) and the Senate (Senat). Members are elected to four-year terms by universal suffrage in a party-list proportional representation electoral system. Beginning in 2008, members are elected by mixed member proportional representation.

The number of senators and deputies has varied in each legislature, reflecting changes in population. In 2008, there were 137 senatorial seats and 334 seats in the Chamber of Deputies; of the 334 deputy seats, 18 were held by the ethnic minorities representatives which would not meet the five-percent electoral threshold required for other parties and organizations.

Classification of political parties[]

Romania has a multiparty system, which makes a majority government virtually impossible (unless a very high score is achieved in the legislative election by one particular political party). Smaller parliamentary parties have sometimes merged with larger ones during previous legislatures prior to 2020. Currently, there are five main parliamentary parties (excluding the 18 ethnic-minority parties which have one representative each):

Logo	Party name		Ideology	Leader(s)	Notes
		National Liberal Party (Romanian: Partidul Național Liberal)	Conservative liberal, centre-right	Ludovic Orban	Currently the largest ruling party through a coalition government since December 2020, but forming a de facto minority government solely with the UDMR after early September 2021.
		Social Democratic Party (Romanian: Partidul Social Democrat)	Social democratic, centre-left populist	Marcel Ciolacu	Currently the largest party in the parliament but continuously in opposition since 2019.
		USR PLUS (Romanian: Uniunea Salvați România)	Progressive-liberal, anti-corruption	Dan Barna Dacian Cioloș	Currently the third largest party (established as a formal political alliance between the USR and PLUS) in the parliament (currently in opposition towards the corrupt PNL-UDMR minority government); Syncretic political position (mostly with tremendous focus towards anti-corruption and the rule of law).
		Alliance for the Union of Romanians (Romanian: Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor)	Romanian nationalism, right-wing populism, national conservatism, Romanian irredentism, Euroscepticism	George Simion Claudiu Târziu	Currently the smallest opposition party in the parliament. In the legislative elections, AUR won 9% of the votes in all of Romania and its diaspora, which resulted in a surprise result that led the party to become the fourth largest one in the country at central political level.
		Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (Romanian: Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România)	Centre-right, Hungarian minority party	Hunor Kelemen	Previously the smallest ruling party in the right-wing coalition established in December 2020 (which subsequently disbanded in September 2021). Since then, still the smallest ruling party governing under a minority cabinet along the larger corrupt PNL.

The main four non-parliamentary parties (the first two around the five-percent threshold) with local representatives are as follows:

Unlike other former Soviet-bloc countries, no party claiming to be the successor of the Romanian Communist Party has been or is currently a significant player on the political scene, although the main continuator of FSN, more specifically PSD, has many times raised suspicions and accusations from electoral contenders regarding the past political careers of many of its current and former members.

Latest elections[]

Presidential election[]

The last presidential election was held on 10 and 24 November 2019.

European Parliament election[]

The last European Parliamentary election was held on 26 May 2019.

Summary of the May 2019 European Parliament election results in Romania

Party				No. of Candidates	Votes	Elected	Change in seats	% of seats	% of votes
National Party		EU Party	EP Group
	National Liberal Party[a] (Partidul Naţional Liberal)	EPP[a]	EPP Group[a]	43	2,449,068	10		30.30%	27.00%
	Social Democratic Party (Partidul Social Democrat)	PES	S&D	43	2,040,765	9		27.27%	22.50%
	2020 USR-PLUS Alliance (Alianța 2020 USR-PLUS) Save Romania Union[b] (Uniunea Salvați România) Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (Partidul Libertății, Unității și Solidarității)	—	ALDE&R[c]	40[g]	2,028,236	8	8	24.24%	22.36%
	PRO Romania (PRO România)	EDP	S&D[e] ECR[f]	43	583,916	2	0	6.06%	6.44%
	People's Movement Party (Partidul Mișcarea Populară)	—	EPP Group	43	522,104	2	2	6.06%	5.76%
	Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (Uniunea Democrată a Maghiarilor din România)	EPP	EPP Group	43	476,777	2	0	6.06%	5.26%
	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (Alianța Liberalilor și Democraților)	ALDE	—	43	372,760	0	2	0%	4.11%
	Independent candidate: Peter Costea	—	—	1	131,021	0	0	0%	1.44%
	Independent candidate: George-Nicolae Simion	—	—	1	117,141	0	0	0%	1.29%
	Independent candidate: Gregoriana Carmen Tudoran	—	—	1	100,669	0	0	0%	1.11%
	National Union for the Progress of Romania (Uniunea Națională pentru Progresul României)	—	No MEPs	43	54,942	0	0	0%	0.61%
	Prodemo Party (Partidul Prodemo)	—	No MEPs	26	53,351	0	0	0%	0.59%
	United Romania Party (Partidul România Unită)	—	No MEPs	30	51,787	0	0	0%	0.57%
	Romanian Socialist Party (Partidul Socialist Român)	—	No MEPs	28	40,135	0	0	0%	0.44%
	Independent Social Democratic Party (Partidul Social Democrat Independent)	—	No MEPs	43	26,439	0	0	0%	0.29%
	National Unity Block - NUB (Blocul Unității Naționale - BUN)	—	No MEPs	12	20,411	0	0	0%	0.23%
Total: 18,267,256 expected voters (turnout – 51.20%)				483	9,352,472	33	1	100%	100%
Source: Summary of the results

Notes

1. ^{^} After the 2014 election, PNL merged with PD-L/PDL and joined the EPP, and EPP Group.
2. ^{^} Prior to the 2019 election, Save Romania Union had no MEPs, and no European affiliation.
3. ^{^} According to the website of the ALDE Group, USR Plus will be part of its new group called "ALDE plus Renaissance plus USR-PLUS.
4. ^{^} Monica Macovei, the founder of the M10 party, was ousted.
5. ^{^} Daciana Sârbu sits with the S&D.
6. ^{^} Laurențiu Rebega sits with the ECR.
7. ^{^} After the lists have been approved by the Central Electoral Bureau, three candidates of the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance have renounced their candidacy. The Central Electoral Bureau ruled the elimination of said positions on the list.^[4]

Legislative election[]

The latest legislative election was held on 6 December 2020. In the two tables below are represented the results for both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies:

Chamber of Deputies[]

Seat distribution in the Chamber of Deputies in Romania after the 6 December 2020 legislative election:

  PSD: 110 seats

  PNL: 93 seats

  USR PLUS: 55 seats

  AUR: 33 seats

  UDMR: 21 seats

  National minorities: 18 seats

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	1,705,777	28.90	110	–44
	National Liberal Party	1,486,401	25.19	93	+24
	2020 USR-PLUS Alliance	906,962	15.37	55	+25
	Alliance for the Union of Romanians	535,828	9.08	33	New
	Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania	339,030	5.74	21	0
	People's Movement Party	284,501	4.82	0	–18
	PRO Romania Social Liberal	241,267	4.09	0	–20
	Ecologist Party of Romania	65,807	1.12	0	0
	Humanist Power Party (Social-Liberal)	59,465	1.01	0	0
	Greater Romania Party	32,654	0.55	0	0
	National Rebirth Alliance	21,662	0.37	0	New
	Green Party	20,614	0.35	0	0
	Romanian Socialist Party	19,693	0.33	0	0
	Party of the Roma "Pro Europe"	14,523	0.25	1	0
	New Romania Party	14,089	0.24	0	0
	League of Albanians of Romania	9,029	0.15	1	0
	Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania	7,582	0.13	1	0
	Association of Macedonians of Romania	7,144	0.12	1	0
	Hellenic Union of Romania	6,096	0.10	1	0
	Union of the Ukrainians of Romania	5,457	0.09	1	0
	Democratic Union of Slovaks and Czechs in Romania	5,386	0.09	1	0
	Community of the Lipovan Russians	5,146	0.09	1	0
	Bulgarian Union of Banat–Romania	4,853	0.08	1	0
	Union of Serbs of Romania	4,691	0.08	1	0
	Association of Italians of Romania	4,170	0.07	1	0
	Union of Armenians of Romania	3,820	0.06	1	0
	Cultural Union of Ruthenians of Romania	3,779	0.06	1	0
	Union of Poles of Romania	3,750	0.06	1	0
	Noua Dreaptă	3,551	0.06	0	0
	Democratic Turkish Union of Romania	3,539	0.06	1	0
	Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania	3,509	0.06	1	0
	Union of Croatians of Romania	3,345	0.06	1	0
	Democratic Union of Turkish-Muslim Tatars	2,862	0.05	1	+1
	National Peasant Party Maniu-Mihalache	2,727	0.05	0	0
	Right Alternative	2,005	0.03	0	New
	Social Democratic Workers' Party	1,912	0.03	0	New
	Romanian Nation Party	1,752	0.03	0	New
	Re:Start Romania Party	537	0.01	0	New
	National Unity Bloc	293	0.00	0	0
	Communists' Party	213	0.00	0	New
	National Force Party	148	0.00	0	New
	Independents	56,346	0.95	0	0
Total		5,901,915	100.00	330	+1
Valid votes		5,901,915	97.43
Invalid/blank votes		155,859	2.57
Total votes		6,057,774	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		18,964,642	31.94
Source: BEC

Senate[]

Seat distribution in the Senate of Romania after the 6 December 2020 legislative election:

  PSD: 47 seats

  PNL: 41 seats

  USR PLUS: 25 seats

  AUR: 14 seats

  UDMR: 9 seats

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	1,732,276	29.32	47	–20
	National Liberal Party	1,511,225	25.58	41	+11
	2020 USR-PLUS Alliance	936,862	15.86	25	+12
	Alliance for the Union of Romanians	541,935	9.17	14	New
	Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania	348,262	5.89	9	0
	People's Movement Party	291,484	4.93	0	–8
	PRO Romania Social Liberal	244,225	4.13	0	–9
	Ecologist Party of Romania	78,654	1.33	0	0
	Humanist Power Party (Social-Liberal)	70,536	1.19	0	0
	Greater Romania Party	38,474	0.65	0	0
	National Rebirth Alliance	23,773	0.40	0	New
	Romanian Socialist Party	23,093	0.39	0	0
	Green Party	23,085	0.39	0	0
	New Romania Party	19,516	0.33	0	0
	Noua Dreaptă	4,345	0.07	0	0
	Social Democratic Workers' Party	3,855	0.07	0	New
	National Peasant Party Maniu-Mihalache	2,803	0.05	0	New
	Right Alternative	2,233	0.04	0	New
	Romanian Nation Party	2,061	0.03	0	New
	Communists' Party	763	0.01	0	New
	Re:Start Romania Party	753	0.01	0	New
	National Unity Bloc	410	0.01	0	0
	National Force	268	0.00	0	New
	Independents	7,440	0.13	0	0
Total		5,908,331	100.00	136	0
Valid votes		5,908,331	97.53
Invalid/blank votes		149,429	2.47
Total votes		6,057,760	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		18,964,642	31.94
Source: BEC

Local election[]

The latest general local election was held on 27 September 2020.

Judicial branch[]

The Romanian legal system, based on the Napoleonic Code, is inquisitorial. The judiciary is independent, and judges appointed by the president are not removable. The president and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed for six-year terms, and may serve consecutive terms. Proceedings are public, except in special circumstances provided for by law.

Judicial power is vested in a hierarchical system of courts, culminating with the supreme court: Înalta Curte de Justiție și Casație (High Court of Cassation and Justice), whose judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates.

The Ministry of Justice represents the general interests of society and defends the rule of law and citizens' rights and freedoms. The ministry exercises its power through independent, impartial public prosecutors.

Constitutional issues[]

The (Constitutional Court) judges issues of constitutionality invoked in any court and judges the compliance of laws (or other state regulations) with the Romanian Constitution. The court, outside the judicial branch, follows the tradition of the French Constitutional Council with nine judges serving nine-year, non-renewable terms. Since the 2003 revision of the constitution, its decisions cannot be overturned by parliamentary majority.

Regional institutions[]

Romanian political mechanism

For territorial and administrative purposes, Romania is divided into 41 counties (județe, singular județ) and the city of Bucharest. Each county is governed by an elected council. Local councils and elected mayors are the public authorities in villages and towns. The county council coordinates the activities of village and town councils.

The central government appoints a prefect for each county and Bucharest, who represents the government at the local level and directs the ministries and other central agencies at the county level. A prefect may block the action of a local authority if he deems it unlawful or unconstitutional, with the matter then adjudicated by an administrative court.

Under legislation enacted in January 1999, local councils control the spending of their allocations from the central government budget and have the authority to raise additional revenue locally. Although centrally-appointed prefects formerly had significant authority over the budget, this is now limited to a review of expenditures to determine their constitutionality.

Since 1989[]

Romania has made progress in institutionalizing democratic principles, civil liberties, and respect for human rights since the Romanian Revolution in December 1989. Some present-day Romanian politicians are former members of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). Since membership in the party was a requirement for advancement before 1989, many people joined to get ahead rather than because of ideological conviction; however, the Communist past of some Romanian politicians remains controversial.

1990–1992[]

February, 1990 Mineriad taking place near Victoria Palace in Bucharest.

Over 200 new political parties sprang up after 1989, most gravitating to leaders rather than programs. All major parties espoused democracy and market reforms in varying degrees. The largest party by far, the governing National Salvation Front (FSN), proposed slow, cautious economic reforms and a social safety net. The main opposition parties, the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNŢ-CD), favored rapid, sweeping reform, immediate privatization, and a reduction in the role of former Communist Party members. The Communist Party ceased to exist.

In the 1990 presidential and legislative elections, the FSN and its presidential candidate, Ion Iliescu, won with a large majority of the votes (67.02 and 85.07 percent, respectively). The strongest opposition parties in the Senate were the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), with 7.20 percent, and the National Liberal Party (PNL) with 7.06 percent.

After FSN Prime Minister Petre Roman's dismissal a few months before the 1992 general elections (following a late 1991 Mineriad), the FSN split in two. President Iliescu's supporters formed a new party, the Democratic National Salvation Front (FDSN), and Roman's supporters retained the FSN name.

1992–1996[]

Flow chart depicting a detailed list of the political parties active in Romania since 1990, along with their afferent secessions and fusions/mergers.

The 1992 local, legislative, and presidential elections indicated a political rift between the urban centres and the countryside. Rural voters, grateful for the restoration of most agricultural land to farmers but fearful of change, strongly favoured President Iliescu and the FDSN; the urban electorate favoured the CDR (a coalition of several parties – the strongest of which were the PNŢ-CD and the PNL – and civic organizations) and quicker reform. Iliescu easily won re-election from a field of five other candidates, and the FDSN won a plurality in both chambers of parliament.

With the CDR, the second-largest parliamentary group, reluctant to participate in a national-unity coalition, the FDSN (now the PDSR) formed a government under Prime Minister and economist Nicolae Văcăroiu with parliamentary support from the nationalist Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR) and Greater Romania Party (PRM), and the Socialist Workers' Party (PSM). In January 1994, the governing coalition's stability became problematic when the PUNR threatened to withdraw its support unless it received cabinet portfolios. After intense negotiations, two PUNR members received cabinet portfolios in the Văcăroiu government in August. The following month, the incumbent justice minister also joined the PUNR. The PRM and the PSM left the coalition in October and December 1995, respectively.

1996–2000[]

The 1996 local elections indicated a major shift in the political orientation of the Romanian electorate, with opposition parties sweeping Bucharest and most of the larger cities in Transylvania, Banat, Bukovina, and Dobruja. The trend continued in that year's legislative and presidential elections, when the opposition dominated the cities and made strong inroads into rural areas previously dominated by President Iliescu and the PDSR (which lost many voters in their traditional stronghold constituencies outside Transylvania).

The opposition campaign emphasized the need to squelch corruption and introduce economic reform. This message resonated with voters, resulting in a historic victory for the CDR coalition and the election of Emil Constantinescu as president. To secure its electoral majority, the CDR invited Petre Roman's Democratic Party (the former FSN) and the UDMR (representing the Hungarian minority) to join the government. Although over the next four years Romania had three prime ministers (and despite internal frictions), the governing parties preserved their coalition and initiated a series of needed reforms.

2000–2004[]

The coalition lost the first round of presidential elections in November 2000 as a result of popular dissatisfaction with infighting among the parties during the preceding four years and the economic hardship brought about by structural reforms. In the second round Iliescu, running again as the Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate, won by a wide margin over extreme nationalist Greater Romania Party (PRM) candidate Corneliu Vadim Tudor. Iliescu appointed Adrian Năstase prime minister. In Parliament the PSD government (like its predecessor) relied on the support of the UDMR, which did not join the Cabinet but negotiated annual packages of legislation and other measures favoring Romania's ethnic Hungarians.

Năstase, in his four years as prime minister, continued the previous government's pro-Western foreign policy. The period was characterized by a political stability unprecedented in post-communist Romania and consistent economic growth. Romania joined NATO in spring 2004 and signed an accession treaty to join the EU. However, the PSD government was plagued by allegations of corruption which would be significant factors in its defeat in local and national elections in 2004.

In September, 2003 the Democratic Party (PD) and National Liberal Party (PNL) formed an electoral alliance, the Justice and Truth (DA) Alliance, as a mainstream opposition bloc to the ruling PSD. The DA Alliance agreed, among other measures, to vote as a bloc in parliament and local councils and run common candidates in national and local elections. In October 2003, the country held a referendum on several constitutional amendments deemed necessary for EU accession. The amendments included provisions to allow foreigners to own land in Romania and to change the president's term from four to five years.

2004–2008[]

In 2004 Traian Băsescu, the then leader of the Democratic Party (PD), won the presidential election by a narrow margin. Băsescu subsequently appointed former liberal leader Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu as Prime Minister. Popescu-Tăriceanu headed a government composed of the PNL, PD, UDMR, and PC (formerly known as the Humanist Party).^[5] In order to secure a parliamentary majority, the coalition government relied on the support of 18 parliamentary seats reserved for ethnic-minority representatives.

The government's narrow majority in Parliament led to calls for early elections. In July 2005, Prime Minister Popescu-Tăriceanu voiced plans to resign, prompting new elections; he then backtracked, noting his and the cabinet's need to focus on relief efforts for summer floods. During its first year the government was also tested by a successfully-resolved hostage crisis involving three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Iraq and avian influenza in several parts of the country, transmitted by wild birds migrating from Asia.

The government's overriding objective was the accession of Romania to the European Union, and on 1 January 2007 Romania became the 26th member of the EU. The government also maintained good relations with the United States, signing an agreement in December 2005 which would allow American troops to train and serve at several Romanian military facilities. Băsescu and Popescu-Tăriceanu pledged to combat high-level corruption and implement broader reform to modernize sectors such as the judicial system and health care.

On 19 April 2007, Parliament suspended President Băsescu on charges of unconstitutional conduct. The suspension, passed by a 322–108 vote, opened the way for a national referendum on impeachment^[6] which failed.

2008–2012[]

The 2013 protests against the Roșia Montană Project turned into an anti-government social movement.

The November 2008 parliamentary elections were close, with the Social Democrats (PSD) winning 33.9 percent of the vote, President Traian Băsescu's centre-right Liberal Democrats (PDL) taking 32.34 percent, and the ruling National Liberals (PNL) receiving 18.6 percent.^[7] The Liberal Democrats and Social Democrats formed a coalition after the election. Former prime minister Theodor Stolojan withdrew his candidacy for the premiership and President Băsescu nominated Emil Boc, president of the Liberal Democrats, as prime minister.

With the onset of the Great Recession, the Romanian political scene saw tensions between the president and the prime minister on the one hand as well as between the general population and both on the other hand. Tensions escalated with a 2012 political crisis and another attempt to impeach President Băsescu. In the referendum, more than 7.4 million people (nearly 90 percent) supported Băsescu's removal from office. However, the Constitutional Court invalidated the referendum because the majority of the population did not vote (the voter turnout was 46%); Băsescu had called the referendum a coup d'état, and asked the public to boycott it. All these events have been heavily criticized by international political figures, most notably by German chancellor Angela Merkel.^[8][9]

2012–2016[]

The legislative elections of 9 December 2012 were seen by the public as an opportunity for change and to oust Băsescu. The Social Liberal Union (USL) received a large majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (60.07 and 58.61 percent of the vote, respectively) and a record 395 seats. The new prime minister, Victor Ponta, quickly formed a government but the failure to adopt reforms quickly triggered a wave of protests against a government seen as not fulfilling the promises of the 2012 electoral campaign. Two other projects of national interest (shale drilling and the Roșia Montană mining project) unleashed more protests. The demonstrations, initially ecological in focus, became anti-government protests.

In early 2014, the PNL broke away from the USL and entered opposition. Along with the PDL, the PNL formed the Christian Liberal Alliance (ACL) in order to support the candidature of Klaus Iohannis as President of Romania and later agreed on a future merger that would retain the name of the National Liberal Party (PNL). Iohannis won a surprise victory in front of then incumbent PM Victor Ponta in the second round of the 2014 presidential elections, by a margin of 54.43%.^[10] At that time, many voters abroad were rightfully angry because they were not all given the right to cast their ballots, which represented one of the key reasons for Ponta's defeat.

In late 2015, another series of nationwide protests ultimately prompted Prime Minister Victor Ponta's resignation. Shortly afterwards, President Iohannis appointed then independent-technocrat Dacian Cioloș as Prime Minister,^[11] who led a likewise independent-technocratic government between late 2015 and early 2017.

2016–2020[]

The legislative elections of 11 December 2016 saw a predictable comeback of the PSD as the major party in the Romanian Parliament, as most opinion polls gave them an electoral score of at least 40%. Alongside ALDE (a mainly splinter group from the PNL), the PSD initially formed a governing coalition under Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu.^[12]

In early 2017, a series of massive nationwide protests (the greatest in Romania's history) requested Grindeanu's resignation and early elections because of the government's secret procedure of giving an ordinance modifying the Penal Code and Penal Procedure Code on the night of 31 January. The PM along with the entire government refused to step down but, nonetheless, decided to withdraw the decrees that started the protests on 5 February at the protests' peak.

Approximately four months later, tensions arose between PM Sorin Grindeanu and PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, which ultimately resulted in the loss of political support for the government on behalf of the PSD-ALDE coalition. The PM refused to resign but was eventually dismissed by a motion of no confidence passed by the Parliament with 241 votes (233 minimum needed).

Quickly afterwards, Mihai Tudose was proposed by the socialists for the position of Prime Minister and was subsequently accepted by president Iohannis.^[13] However, just after 6 months of governance, he resigned from this dignity. Consequently, the ruling coalition nominated a new Prime Minister candidate in the person of Viorica Dăncilă, a former socialist MEP in the 2014–19 who was also accepted by the state president. She was also the first female Prime Minister of Romania.^[14] Subsequently, on 4 November 2019, after a motion of no confidence, the PSD minority government was replaced by a minority cabinet led by the National Liberal Party under Ludovic Orban.^[15] Furthermore, in November 2019, President Klaus Iohannis was re-elected by a landslide.^[16]

All throughout this period of time (i.e. the two years spanning between 2017 and 2019) which was marked by governmental mayhem produced by the previous PSD-ALDE ruling coalition regarding their change of PMs as well as their intentions of changing both the Penal Code and the Penal Procedure Code, the Romanian society took to the streets of Bucharest and many other major cities of the country in huge numbers for more than 500 consecutive days in order to oppose the modification of these law packages, prompt early elections, as well as a referendum on the topic of justice.^[17]

2020–present[]

The 2020 Romanian local elections held on 27 September were won by the PNL. On 6 December, the PNL finished second after the 2020 Romanian legislative election. The election was won by the oppositional Social Democrats (PSD) who came in first. Shortly after the official results came out, Orban resigned from his position as PM and was replaced by Nicolae Ciucă as acting PM.^[18]

In the meantime, the national liberals proceeded to negotiate the formation of a coalition government alongside USR PLUS and UDMR for a stable governance for the next four years in Romania. The newly designated PM was therefore Florin Cîțu, a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), who took office on 23 December 2020, after forming a three party, center-right coalition consisting of the PNL, the USR PLUS, and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR).^[19]

Participation in international organizations[]

Romania participates in the following international organisations:

• ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CPLP (associate member), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EEA, EU, FAO, Francophonie. G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), Latin Union, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, SEECP, SPSEE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, Zangger Committee.

See also[]

• European Union
• Human rights in Romania
• Military of Romania
• Relations of Romania with Moldova
• Movement for unification of Romania and Moldova
• Foreign relations of Romania

References[]

External links[]

• List of Romanian Embassies
• World Statesmen: Romania, including a comprehensive list of princes, monarchs, prime ministers, etc.
• Erik Herron's Guide to Politics of East Central Europe and Eurasia

Further reading[]

• John Hickman and Chris Little, "Seat/Vote Proportionality in Romanian and Spanish Parliamentary Elections", Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans Volume 2, Number 2, November 2000.