FOCUS: Start of the electoral campaign

2024 is the first year in which all elections take place in the same year. Local and parliamentary elections are organized once every four years, while the polls for the election of MEPs and the President of Romania take place every five years.

On Friday, May 10, 2024, at 0:00, the electoral campaign began, which will end on June 8, 2024, at 7:00.

In the electoral campaign, the candidates and the parties that proposed them will have to follow strict rules. The maximum allowed size of the banners will be approximately the size of an A3 sheet and they can only be placed in special election display places, established by the town hall. Likewise, the use of a sequence of colors that reproduces the Romanian flag on posters will be prohibited.

“According to the regulations in force, the use of discriminatory messages or slogans or messages of incitement to hatred and intolerance, as well as any forms, means, acts or actions of defamation and religious or ethnic enmity, is prohibited in the electoral campaign. The Central Electoral Bureau strongly recommends electoral competitors to comply with the general rules regarding the conduct of the electoral campaign, to have a balanced, honest and constructive discourse and to avoid distortion or manipulation of information in order to prevent the spread of fake news, disinformation actions and any slip-ups likely to affect the smooth running of the electoral process”, says the Central Electoral Bureau.

On June 9, 2024, at 7:00 a.m., the voting process will begin, for both elections, and will end on the same day, at 10:00 p.m. Voters who are at the polling station headquarters at 10:00 p.m., as well as those queuing outside the polling station headquarters to enter the polling station, can vote until 11:59 p.m. at the latest.

After the counting of the votes and the resolution of any complaints or appeals, the results of the elections for the local public administration authorities and for the members from Romania in the European Parliament, from the year 2024, will be validated and published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.

European parliamentary elections

In this year’s European Parliament (EP) elections, nine political parties, three alliances, and four independent candidates were admitted.

This year’s elections represent the fifth election of this type since Romania entered the European Union (EU) in 2007.

The 33 Romanian MEPs are elected by direct universal suffrage by all EU citizens registered on the electoral rolls and over 18 years of age. The voting takes place in a single electoral district on the basis of proportional representation, which means that the number of deputies elected from each political party depends on the number of votes obtained by the party. Romania uses a system of closed lists, which does not allow changing the order number of the candidates on the list. Seats in the European Parliament (EP) are allocated to parties that obtain at least 5% of the votes validly cast by the d’Hondt method.

In total, 720 MEPs will be elected in June 2024, 15 more than in the previous elections. As a general rule, the number of MEPs is decided before each election. Their total cannot exceed 750 plus the president.

Local elections

In the local elections, you vote for the mayors of each commune, city or municipality, for the local councilors and for the presidents of the county councils. To vote, the following conditions must be met: Romanian citizenship, at least 18 years of age by the day of the elections, domicile or residence established in the electoral district and registration on the permanent or temporary electoral lists.