Romania’s multiparty system has ensured regular rotations of power through competitive elections. Civil liberties are generally respected but have come under growing pressure as entrenched political interests push back against civic and institutional efforts to combat systemic corruption. Discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities and other vulnerable groups is a long-standing problem, as is control of key media outlets by businesspeople with political interests.

• The far-right politician Călin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round of Romania’s presidential election, held in November, taking 22 percent of the vote amid a field of several candidates. Georgescu, who was unaffiliated with any political party and did most campaigning on social media, was critical of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU), opposed Romanian assistance to Ukraine as it fought against a full-scale Russian invasion, and had praised Romania’s fascist World War II–era leader. Voter turnout was 51 percent.
• On December 6, two days before the presidential runoff in which Georgescu was to face Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union (USR), the Constitutional Court annulled the results of the election’s first round, which it had certified on December 2 following a recount. In its annulment ruling, the court cited documents declassified on December 4 by Romanian intelligence services that said that the Russian state had engaged in online election interference, and which suggested that these efforts had benefitted Georgescu. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed support for the Romanian intelligence service’s findings. Referencing official campaign declarations, the Constitutional Court also noted serious irregularities in electoral-campaign financing.
• The governing coalition, led by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), won a majority in both legislative chambers in the December 1 parliamentary elections, but with considerably lower support compared to the 2020 elections. The polls took place without major incident and stakeholders accepted the results. The PSD formed a government with its previous coalition partners, the National Liberal Party (PNL) and Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UMDR), and Ciolacu was reappointed prime minister.
• Corruption cases persisted. In February, Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) opened a criminal investigation against Iulian Dumitrescu, who was president of the county council in Prahova and a PNL vice president, for allegedly demanding a bribe worth 47.5 million lei ($10.2 million) from a businessman, of which the complaint said he had collected about a third. In April, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted searches in Brăila County, in a suspected fraud case involving EU agricultural funds amounting to more than €500,000 ($5.3 million). A civil servant’s home was among the search targets.

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For additional background information, see last year’s full report.