The 2024 European Parliament election in Romanian was held on 9 June 2024.[1] This was the fifth European Parliament election to be held in Romania since the country's accession to the European Union in 2007 and the first since Brexit.
Voting procedure
The 33 Romanian MEPs[c] are elected by direct universal suffrage by all EU citizens registered on the electoral rolls and over 18 years of age. The ballot is held in a single electoral district on the basis of proportional representation, which means that the number of MPs elected from each political party depends on the number of votes obtained by the party. Romania uses a closed list system, which does not allow changing the order number of the candidates on the list. Seats in the European Parliament are allocated to parties that obtain at least 5% of the votes validly cast by the D'Hondt method.
Background
National Coalition for Romania
In the last European parliamentary elections, in 2019, PSD obtained 9 mandates. It was the weakest electoral result recorded by the PSD in its entire European Parliament electoral history, largely based on the soft eurosceptic and nationalist rhetoric[2] that the party adopted during the leadership of Liviu Dragnea, the constant, brutal weakening of the rule of law, and the encouragement of corruption.
There followed a period when the party changed 2 presidents within a few months: Liviu Dragnea (27 May 2019)[3][4] and Viorica Dăncilă (November 2019). In November 2019, Marcel Ciolacu took over as ad interim/acting president of the PSD and was later fully elected in 2020 at a party congress.[5] Throughout Marcel Ciolacu's presidency, PSD tried to distance itself from the eurosceptic and nationalist rhetoric and 'wash' its image as a party endorsing corruption at high political level. From 2021, the PSD has been one of the two main governing parties alongside the National Liberal Party (PNL) within the National Coalition for Romania (CNR).[6][7]
The National Liberal Party (PNL) ranked first in the last European parliamentary elections, obtaining 10 mandates. The speeches of PNL leaders and candidates oscillated during the campaign between a focus on European policy topics and an emphasis on domestic politics and disputes with the governing coalition. Among the electoral promises were: raising the MCV, Romania's accession to the Schengen Area and the eurozone, improving the rule of law and investments by accessing European funds.
After the 2020 parliamentary elections, the PNL entered the government together with the USR PLUS and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ),[8] a coalition that lasted until September 2021.[9] Throughout 2021, tensions have increased within the National Liberal Party (PNL), with the then party's president Ludovic Orban being challenged by high-ranking politicians within the party. At the September 2021 party congress, former Romanian controversial Prime MinisterFlorin Cîțu won the party presidency over Ludovic Orban.[10] However, Cîțu did not remain the party's president for too long, as in April 2022, at an extraordinary party congress with only one candidate, former Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă became the new president of the party (and is still its current leader).[11] Following the loss of the party presidency by former longtime president Ludovic Orban and the political crisis of 2021, a new splinter party from the PNL, Force of the Right (FD), was founded by former Prime Minister Ludovic Orban.[12]
Save Romania Union (USR)
Save Romania Union (USR) participated in the 2019 elections as part of the 2020 USR PLUS Alliance,[13] an alliance between the parties USR and Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (PLUS), which later merged together as Save Romania Union (USR), previously obtaining 8 MEP mandates. It was the best electoral result recorded by the USR since its establishment in 2016. The 2019 electoral campaign focused in particular on a pro-European platform, and, among the most notable electoral offers were the following: protecting the rights of Romanians in the European Union (EU), Romania's accession to the Schengen Area, positive changes in education, agriculture and infrastructure as well as taking measures to increase social welfare and the overall economic situation of the country. Also, in the rallies held during the election campaign, the message of the USR PLUS Alliance emphasized the fight against a corrupt and authoritarian government power.
In 2020, USR PLUS entered government alongside the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ). In 2021, USR and PLUS officially merged, with only the Save Romania Union (USR) name being retained by both parties as part of the fusion protocol.[14] In September 2021, the forced exit of the USR from the government by the PNL and incumbent PresidentKlaus Iohannis triggered a political crisis which ended by the subsequent entry of the PSD into government alongside PNL and UDMR/RMDSZ. In October 2021, the USR congress elected former Prime MinisterDacian Cioloș as president of the party,[15] but the latter did not hold the position for a long time, as in February 2022 he resigned from this leading position within the party.[16] Later on, Cătălin Drulă was elected party president and is the current party leader.[17]
In the late of 2023, the leaders of USR, People's Movement Party (PMP) and Force of the Right (FD) announced their intention to form a center-right alliance to compete together in the 2024 European Parliament elections.[19][20] On December 18, 2023, USR, PMP and FD officially launched United Right Alliance, going to run on a joint list for European Parliament elections.[21]
On 17 March 2024, Sector 5 mayor Cristian Popescu Piedone announced that the he will be first on the party's list for the European Parliament Elections.[32]
The Romanian delegation to the European Parliament before the 2024 elections
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