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Presidential elections are going to be held in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
in either mid- or late November 2024, with an eventual second round to be held in late November or early December 2024 as well (depending on the final results of the first round). As the
Romanian Constitution The current Constitution of Romania is the seventh permanent constitution in modern Romania's history. It is the fundamental governing document of Romania that establishes the structure of its government, the rights and obligations of citizens, ...
allows a maximum of two presidential terms (consecutive or not), incumbent
President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indiv ...
Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...
, first elected in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and then re-elected in
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, is not eligible for re-election anymore. Nevertheless, there is an ongoing speculation according to which the forthcoming Romanian presidential elections might occur earlier than to term, assuming that incumbent President Klaus Iohannis would be nominated as
Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...
and that he will accept the nomination, then the next Romanian presidential elections will likely take place in 2023 instead of 2024.


Candidates


National Liberal Party (PNL)

President
Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...
is not eligible for another candidacy, therefore the party needs to find another suitable candidate. Former Prime Minister and former PNL president
Ludovic Orban Ludovic Orban (; born 25 May 1963) is a Romanian engineer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania from November 2019 to December 2020. He was president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) between 2017 and 2021, which expelled ...
stated in Tecuci,
Galați County Galați () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați. History Historically Galați is part of Moldavia. In 1858, it was represented by Alexandru Ioan Cuza at the '' ad hoc Divan'' at Iași, in the w ...
, on 22 May 2021, that he does not "rule out" a candidacy in 2024. On 25 June 2021, then-Prime Minister
Florin Cîțu Florin Vasile Cîțu (; born 1 April 1972) is a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between December 2020 and November 2021 (acting/ad interim between October and November 2021). Between September 2021 and April 2022, he ...
stated in
Piatra Neamț Piatra Neamț (; german: Kreuzburg an der Bistritz; hu, Karácsonkő) is the capital city of Neamț County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in northeastern Romania. Because of its privileged location in the Eastern Carpathian mount ...
that he is "currently not considering" a presidential candidacy. Furthermore, fellow liberal party leaders consider proposing the incumbent president
Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...
as Prime Minister, after his presidential term ends in 2024.


Social Democratic Party (PSD)

In a televised talk show, on 24 April 2021, the party leader
Marcel Ciolacu Ion-Marcel Ciolacu (born 28 November 1967) is a Romanian politician who currently serves as the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). A previously little known politician, Ciolacu came into national prominence when he was propped up by a f ...
stated that "is very likely" that the party president (himself, at that time) will not run for president in 2024. Asked about considering a presidential candidacy, member of the Chamber of Deputies, Alexandru Rafila vaguely answered on 4 July 2021 "never say never", but underlined that running for president is "definitely not my goal". In another televised talk show, former Prime Minister
Sorin Grindeanu Sorin Mihai Grindeanu (; born 5 December 1973) is a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania from January to June 2017 when he was removed by a motion of no confidence adopted by the Parliament. He served as ad interim Presid ...
stated that the party is "going for the win" in all elections scheduled in 2024 (legislative elections, local elections, European Parliament elections, and presidential elections) and he "did not rule out" that
Mircea Geoană Dan Mircea Geoană (; born 14 July 1958) is a Romanian politician and former ambassador who served as president of the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate from 20 December 2008 until he was revoked on 23 November 2011. From 21 ...
could be, yet again, the party's presidential candidate.
Mircea Geoană Dan Mircea Geoană (; born 14 July 1958) is a Romanian politician and former ambassador who served as president of the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate from 20 December 2008 until he was revoked on 23 November 2011. From 21 ...
ran for president in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, but narrowly lost in the second round to
Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 a ...
, who was then re-elected for a second and last term. According to ongoing speculation, Mircea Geoană might very well run for presidency in 2024, but it is yet unclear if he will receive PSD support, according to incumbent PSD president Marcel Ciolacu.


Save Romania Union (USR)

Former
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
candidate
Dan Barna Dan Barna (born 10 July 1975) is a Romanian politician and lawyer. He served as the president of the Save Romania Union (USR), and as co-president of USR-PLUS until 1 October 2021. He was elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 2016. Bio ...
(and party co-president) stated in several interviews in April 2021 that his candidacy is "not ruled out" and that his candidacy is a "real scenario". Party co-president
Dacian Cioloș Dacian Julien Cioloș (; born 27 July 1969) is a Romanian agronomist who served as Prime Minister of Romania from November 2015 to January 2017. He previously served as Agriculture Minister under Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu between October 2007 a ...
stated in an interview, on 18 February 2021, that he is also considering running in 2024. On 1 October 2021, Cioloș stated that his objective is to win the 2024 presidential election, claiming that he is willing to candidate as well.


People's Movement Party (PMP)

Cristian Diaconescu Cristian Diaconescu (; born 2 July 1959) is a Romanian jurist and politician. He previously belonged to the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), as well as to the People's Movement Party (PMP), ...
, then newly elected president of the party in early 2021, was designated the party's presidential candidate. However, some analysts believed that
Mihail Neamțu Mihail Neamțu (), born 1978, is a Romanian Conservatism in the United States, conservative politician. He received a PhD in theology from King's College London and has written several books on politics, religion, and culture. Life and career ...
, a current member of the PMP, might run for presidency instead, either as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...
(with PMP support) or as a candidate from another party. On 23 March 2022, Cristian Diaconescu was excluded from the party by the new leadership, thus losing his presidential candidate status previously granted by the PMP.


Force of the Right (FD)

On 28 June 2022, former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
, former PNL president, and current
Force of the Right Force of the Right ( ro, Forța Dreptei, FD), sometimes translated as Right's Force or Right Force, is a liberal-conservative political party in Romania founded in December 2021 by Ludovic Orban, former National Liberal Party (PNL) president and ...
(FD) leader
Ludovic Orban Ludovic Orban (; born 25 May 1963) is a Romanian engineer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania from November 2019 to December 2020. He was president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) between 2017 and 2021, which expelled ...
officially announced that he will run for president in 2024, also stating that he doesn't want to support any other candidate, being tremendously disappointed by incumbent
President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indiv ...
, Klaus Iohannis. Thus, Orban becomes the second former PNL president to run for the Romanian presidency supported by a breakaway faction of the PNL after
Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Călin Constantin Anton Popescu-Tăriceanu (; born 14 January 1952) is a Romanian politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from 29 December 2004 to 22 December 2008. He was also president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the vice-pre ...
(Prime Minister between 2004 and 2008) who ran on behalf of the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR; one of the predecessors of the Romanian ALDE founded in 2015 through a merger with the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
(PC) and subsequently absorbed by the PNL in March 2022) in 2014, during that year's presidential elections.


Publicly expressed interest

These individuals have not declared their clear intention to run, but are considering a candidacy.


Potential candidates

These individuals have been subject to public speculation and/or vague declarations made by themselves, but have publicly yet to firmly deny or confirm their interest in running for president.


Withdrawn candidates

These individuals have been official candidates or considered their candidacy, but have withdrawn from the race or they lost the support of their party and, so far, have not reconsidered their intentions.


Declined to be candidates

These individuals have been the subject of speculation, but have publicly denied or recanted their interest in running for president. Also, individuals that were subject to public speculation, but are legally barred from running for president are included here.


Timeline


Polls


Round I


First round


Opinion polls with potential candidates (starting from 2021)


Approval ratings for the incumbent president


Approval ratings for Klaus Iohannis


References

{{Romanian elections
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...
Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...
Presidential elections in Romania