Parliamentary elections were held in Romania on 11 December 2016. They were the first held under a new electoral system adopted in 2015, which saw a return to the proportional electoral system last used in the
2004 elections. The new electoral legislation provides a norm of representation for deputies of 73,000 inhabitants and 168,000 inhabitants for senators, which decreased the number of MPs.
A total of 466 parliamentary seats (308 deputies, 18 minority deputies, and 134 senators) were contested, compared with the 588 parliamentarians
elected in 2012. The
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
was represented by four deputies and two senators, elected by
postal vote
Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system.
In an el ...
. The elections saw a turnout of 39.5%, lower than in 2012 but slightly higher than in the 2008 elections.
New electoral system
The parliamentary election of 2016 unfolded differently compared to
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
and
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
. On 24 February 2015, the Electoral Code Commission decided in principle for the future electoral law to return to
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a system of proportional representation based on preregistered Political party, political parties, with each party being Apportionment (politics), allocated a certain number of seats Apportionm ...
, thereby relinquishing the
first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
(uninominal) voting system as introduced in 2008. The option of turning the
Parliament of Romania
The Parliament of Romania () is the national Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania), Chamber of Deputies () and the Senate of Romania, Senate (). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament i ...
into a perfectly
bicameral parliament
Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single ...
, with some 300 deputies being elected on a
closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively vote for only political parties as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some in ...
and 100 senators being elected by a single-round uninominal majority vote, had been discussed for years and even agreed upon between the ruling
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
(PSD) and the opposition. The new electoral law promulgated by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Klaus Iohannis
Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...
on 20 July 2015 however did not retain uninominal constituencies for the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. Closely sticking to the commission's recommendations, the new electoral law completely returned to party-list proportional representation.
With a representation norm of one deputy per 73,000 inhabitants and one senator per 168,000 inhabitants, a total of 308 deputies were elected, to which are added the 18 deputies of minorities, 134 senators and 6 MPs of diaspora (two senators and four deputies). All in all this totals to a number of 466 MPs, five fewer than in 2008 and 122 fewer than in 2012.
While for single-party lists the
electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature.
This limit can operate in various ...
is kept at 5%, a higher threshold of 8–10% is introduced for
electoral alliance
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections.
E ...
s. For the first time the Romanian electors residing abroad were able to cast their
vote via mail, in a reaction to the flawed procedures at the
2014 presidential election.
Parties
Although the image of
Victor Ponta
Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of Romania from 2012 to 2015. He was president of the Social Democratic Party (Romania), Social Democratic Party (PSD) from 2010 to ...
and his
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
(PSD) was badly affected by corruption scandals and
a recent wave of protests, the party remains one of the two major parties in Romania. Besides the PSD, the Romanian party system however went through a number of substantial regroupings.
Major regroupings
Leading centre-left
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
(PSD) and the
Centre Right Alliance (ACD) of the
Conservative Party (PC) and
National Liberal Party (PNL) contested the
2012 parliamentary election under the joint ticket of the
Social Liberal Union
The Social Liberal Union (, USL) was a grand coalition of several political parties which was active in Romania during the early to mid 2010s. The alliance contained two major political parties, one major centre-left and one centre-right, more sp ...
(USL). They won an absolute majority to form a government headed by prime minister
Victor Ponta
Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of Romania from 2012 to 2015. He was president of the Social Democratic Party (Romania), Social Democratic Party (PSD) from 2010 to ...
.
Over time, the PC and PNL increasingly distanced themselves from each other, with the PC – despite its name – embracing
social liberalism
Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...
and being affected by corruption scandals involving its leader,
Dan Voiculescu
Dan Voiculescu (; born September 25, 1946), also known as ''"Varanul"'', lit. 'the Monitor lizard', or "Felix Voiculescu", is a Romanian politician and businessman. He is the founder and former president of the Romanian Humanist Party (PUR), la ...
, who was subsequently sentenced to prison for
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
. In turn, the PNL dropped out of the coalition government in February 2014. Formerly affiliated with the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...
(ALDE), the party applied for membership in the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
(EPP) and was later accepted as a member. The PNL's shift to the right led to a faction led by
Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu
Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania, prime minister of Romania from 2004 to 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...
leaving to form the
Liberal Reformist Party (PLR), which then merged with the PC to found the Romanian
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), named after the European party. This move was criticized by Conservative MEP Maria Grapini, who accused her party of betrayal.
Subsequently, the PNL joined forces with the
Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), which itself had suffered a split when
Traian Băsescu
Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...
left to form the
People's Movement (PMP). Ahead of a complete merger, the PDL and PNL formed the
Christian Liberal Alliance (ACL), which successfully fielded
Klaus Iohannis
Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...
in the
November 2014 presidential election. The two parties fully merged on 17 November 2014 under the name of
National Liberal Party (PNL).
In June 2015, the left-wing
National Union for the Progress of Romania
The Party for the Homeland, Military and Police in Reserve and Retirement (, PPMPRR), sometimes shortened to the Party for the Homeland, Military and Police (, PPMP), and formerly known as the National Union for the Progress of Romania (, UNPR) is ...
(UNPR) which was previously in the
Centre Left Alliance (ACS) with the Social Democrats (PSD), absorbed the remainders of dissolved populist
PP-DD after the latter's founder
Dan Diaconescu was convicted for
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
. UNPR president
Gabriel Oprea
Gabriel Oprea (; born 1 January 1961) is a Romanian politician and a general in the army reserves. The former president of the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) and a former member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) who is now ...
advanced an independent list for his party for the 2016 parliamentary election. Though it aimed to win 10% of national vote on its own, the party also reaffirmed its commitment to the Centre Left Alliance (ACS) with the PSD. However, in July 2016, UNPR joined the right-leaning
People's Movement Party
The People's Movement Party (, PMP) is an extra-parliamentary national-conservative and social conservative political party in Romania.
History
The PMP was created as a political foundation in March 2013 by supporters of then incumbent sta ...
(PMP) led by former president
Traian Băsescu
Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...
, despite protests from some UNPR members. Oprea, himself under investigation for
abuse of power
Abuse of power or abuse of authority, in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official abuse of power", is the commission of an Crime, unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasan ...
, resigned from the party and declared his intention to leave politics.
Further developments
A new nationalist party, United Romania Party (PRU), was founded by MP Bogdan Diaconu on 17 August 2014 and became official by court decision on 17 February 2015.
Also notable was the rise of the Union for the Salvation of Romania (USR), a party recently created from its base in Bucharest as the Union for the Salvation of Bucharest. Led by
Nicușor Dan
Nicușor Daniel Dan (; born 20 December 1969) is a Romanian politician, mathematician, and civic activist serving as the sixth president of Romania since 2025. He previously served as the mayor of Bucharest from 2020 to 2025 and as a member of ...
, a mathematics professor, it was a reformist group of newcomers to politics committed to rooting out corruption. Polling suggested that the USR would exceed its goal of winning 10% of the popular vote.
The
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania
The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR; , RMDSZ ; , UDMR) is a political party in Romania which aims to represent the significant Hungarian minority of Romania.
Officially considering itself a federation of minority interests ra ...
(UDMR/RMDSZ), the largest party representing an ethnic minority, was also projected to be represented in the parliament.
Opinion polls
Graphical summary of the polls
Results
Chamber of Deputies
Senate
See also
*
List of members of the Senate of Romania (2016–2020)
*
List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania (2016–2020)
Notes
References
External links
{{Romanian elections
Parliamentary
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
Parliamentary elections in Romania