Parliamentary election, 1 December 2024

Romania held parliamentary elections—to the Chamber of Deputies and Senate—on 1 December 2024. The bicameral parliament operates under a proportional (list) system with members elected for four years. Party quotas on gender balance are voluntary only – 22 per cent of seats in the lower house are currently held by women MPs (International IDEA n.d.a.). Elections are managed by the Permanent Electoral Authority (PEA) and a three-tier structure established for each election, headed by the Central Election Bureau.

The elections took place amid political tensions and multiple challenges to electoral integrity. Electoral law amendments in 2022 introduced tighter candidacy restrictions, particularly for individuals with prior convictions. Otherwise the legal-electoral framework remained largely unchanged with many OSCE-ODIHR recommendations unaddressed – such as opening meetings of election management bodies to observers. Several political and civil society stakeholders raised concerns with international observers about overall transparency of election administration and of campaign finance, among others. 

Romania's security council said the country was a target of "aggressive hybrid Russian attacks" during the election period, which included over 85,000 cyber attacks (Reuters 2024). Disinformation and inflammatory, xenophobic rhetoric in online campaigning further threatened public trust. Gender-based discrimination remained an issue, with women facing online harassment and misogynistic messaging during the campaign. Disability access and staff awareness at polling stations remains an issue (OSCE 2024).

To improve security, the PEA updated and circulated lists of polling station computer operators who are authorized to access polling stations and are responsible for monitoring turnout and preventing illegal voting (Permanent Electoral Authority 2024).

Turnout in the parliamentary elections was 52.33 per cent  (International IDEA n.d.c.). Romania's 2024 elections saw a rightward shift, with radical and Eurosceptic parties gaining ground (BRCC 2024).