Parliamentary elections took place in Romania on Sunday, 11 December 2016, to replace the technocratic government led by Independent Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș. Prime Minister Cioloș had replaced Social Democratic Party leader Victor Ponta in November 2015 following mass protests. The Social Democratic Party returned to power in a landslide victory, and will now consolidate its majority with a smaller coalition partner in government.

Background

Romania has a bicameral system, with both the Chamber of Deputies, Camera Deputaţilor, and the Senate, Senatul, being elected every four years. Since 2015, the 312 seats in the Camera Deputaţilor are elected across 43 administrative constituencies. 41 of these constituencies represent counties in Romania, with one reserved for the capital city, Bucharest, and another for Romanians living abroad. 18 seats are allocated in the Camera Deputaţilor to ethnic minority groups in Romania. A proportional representation system with a closed list of candidates is used for both houses of Parliament, meaning that voters can choose between political parties but not between individual candidates. This system was used prior to 2008 and was returned with electoral reforms in 2015.

There are 9 political parties represented in the current Romanian Parliament, the largest of which is the Social Democratic Party, led by Liviu Dragnea, with 132 MPs and 63 Senators. This is followed by the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL), led by Alina Gorghiu, with 113 MPs and 63 Senators and the centre-right Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), with 26 MPs and 12 Senators. In order to enter the Camera Deputaţilor, parties must win at least 5 per cent of the total vote or 20 per cent of all votes in a minimum of 4 constituencies.

Since 17 November 2015, Romania has been governed by a technocratic government, led by former European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Affairs and former Romanian Agriculture Minister, Dacian Cioloș. His appointment by President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, came in the wake of ongoing corruption allegations against former Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, and the tragedy in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, where 64 people lost their lives in a fire on 30 October 2015. Breaches of security standards as a result of corruption and negligence on the part of Romanian authorities were blamed for the tragedy, with mass protests in Bucharest leading to former Prime Minister Ponta’s resignation on 4 November 2015. The government of Prime Minister Cioloș was made up of independent experts and focused on enacting a number of reforms and reducing levels of corruption.

Prime Minister Cioloș announced that there would be greater opportunity for Romanians living abroad to vote, with electronic and postal voting put in place, as well as a greater number of polling stations abroad. The leaders of both the Social Democratic Party and the PNL had pledged to resign from their positions if they failed to win the Parliamentary elections.

Results

The Social Democrats won a landslide victory, with just under 46 per cent of the popular vote in both houses of Parliament, followed by the PNL with 20 per cent. Leader of the PNL, Alina Gorghiu, resigned after the result was announced. The Social Democratic Party is expected to form a government with the support of ALDE, who won just under 6 per cent in both houses, in order to secure a larger Parliamentary majority. The recently formed Save Romania Union came in third position with 8.8 per cent of the vote, having run on an anti-corruption platform.

Implications

The favourite candidates for the position of Prime Minister are current Social Democratic Party leader, Liviu Dragnea, and outgoing Deputy Prime Minister, Vasile Dîncu, who is a member of the Social Democratic Party. Despite Mr Dragnea leading the race, President Iohannis has vowed not to support a candidate who has been convicted of a crime or who has integrity issues. Mr Dragnea is currently serving a two-year suspended sentence for his involvement in the attempted rigging of a referendum in 2012. A 2001 law forbids the appointment of convicted persons to government positions.

Several commentators have suggested that the success of the Social Democratic Party despite the recent history of corruption points to other issues dominating these elections, such as jobs, public services and welfare. Romania remains largely supportive of EU membership, with no political party adopting a Eurosceptic platform. The victory of the Social Democratic Party will result in the continuation of a period of ‘cohabitation’, whereby the government and President of Romania are from opposing political parties

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