2025 Romanian presidential election

Presidential elections will be held in Romania on 4 and 18 May 2025, following the annulment of the results of the 2024 presidential election.^[2][3]

2025 Romanian presidential election

← 2024 4 May 2025 (first round) 18 May 2025 (second round)
Registered	19,005,434[1]
Nominee Crin Antonescu George Simion Elena Lasconi Party Independent[a] AUR[b] USR   Nominee Nicușor Dan Victor Ponta Party Independent[c] Independent[d]
Incumbent President Ilie Bolojan (acting) PNL

Background

Previous election annulled

Main article: 2024–2025 Romanian election annulment protests

On 6 December 2024, the 2024 presidential election was annulled by the Constitutional Court of Romania, 48 hours before the second round was to be held, due to alleged Russian intervention on behalf of independent candidate, Călin Georgescu, who took a shock lead in the first round with 23%.^[4] CSAT said the campaign was "identical" to the online campaign launched by Russia before its invasion of Ukraine and which led to the cancellation of the first round. On 20 December, an investigation was published showing that PNL had seemingly paid for one of the TikTok campaigns.^[5] PNL interim president Ilie Bolojan has stated however that the campaign was altered illegally to favor Georgescu, yet has not blamed the company they worked with for this alteration.^[6]

Second Ciolacu cabinet

After the parliamentary election, the second Ciolacu cabinet was formed as a minority coalition between PSD, PNL, UDMR and with confidence and supply from minority parties. In December 2024, days before Christmas. Furthermore, Ilie Bolojan became President of the Senate of Romania and Ciprian-Constantin Șerban became President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania. The cabinet passed with a seven-vote majority and became official. Opposition leaders (most prominently George Simion and POT Leader Anamaria Gavrilă) called the cabinet illegitimate and for the resignation of incumbent president Klaus Iohannis.^[7][8][9]

President Klaus Iohannis' resignation and political crisis

Following the annulment of the 2024 Romanian presidential election in December, Iohannis was allowed to stay on as president by the Constitutional Court until his successor could be sworn in. However, on 10 February, following an attempt by members of parliament to impeach him, Iohannis announced that he would resign on 12 February.^[10] Senate president Ilie Bolojan assumed the role of acting president until the elections.^[11]

Georgescu barring and Simion candidacy

On 26 February 2025, Georgescu was stopped by police in traffic, while allegedly on his way to register for the election. He was charged with six offenses, including incitement to actions against the constitutional order, and support of fascist groups.^[12] Preemptive measures have been imposed, including judiciary control, and a 60-day ban on posting xenophobic and antisemitic materials to social networks (although such actions are already illegal in Romania).^[13][14] Police found 10 million USD buried inside his bodyguard's house along with plane tickets to Moscow.^[15][16] On 7 March, Georgescu filed his candidacy to the Central Electoral Bureau, being rejected two days later which led to new protests.^[17] Consequently, George Simion arrived to the Central Electoral Bureau on 14 March accompanied by former Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki to file his candidacy after collecting 604,000 signatures, above the minimum requirement of 200,000.^[18] The CEB approved his candidacy on the following day,^[19] which was also the deadline for candidates to register, with Simion stating "We passed the BEC, now let's see if we pass the CCR and return to democracy".^[20] The CCR validated his candidacy one day later as well as the ones of Nicușor Dan and Victor Ponta.^[21]

Election date

The date of the first round had initially been publicly speculated by media as 23 March 2025, with the runoff two weeks later (6 April 2025). In early January, these dates became obsolete, as the law for electing the President of Romania requires a minimum of 75 days between the election day and the day the election is called. On 8 January, the coalition fixed the dates of the election. The first round is scheduled to be held on 4 May 2025 with the second round two weeks later (18 May 2025).^[22][23]

Date	Event
8 January	The government fixed the date for the election (First round on 4 May 2025)
20 February	The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) is constituted (Judges from the High Court of Cassation and Justice drawn, and representatives of the Permanent Electoral Authority)
21 February	The BEC is finalised (representatives form the parliamentary parties)
23 February	Deadline for registration of electoral alliances at BEC
15 March	Deadline for candidates to register, 23:59:59 (at BEC)
17 March	Deadline for BEC to validate or reject candidates registered on 15 March (48 hours after registering)[24]
19 March	Deadline to file complaints at CCR against BEC decision (of validation or rejection of a candidacy) (24 hours after BEC ruling)
20 March	Definitive candidacies announced
22 March	BEC determines the order of the candidates on the ballot paper (lottery)
4 April	The start of the electoral campaign (at 7:00)
2 May	The end of the electoral campaign (at 22:00) Voting at polling stations abroad begins at 7:00 a.m. local time
4 May	Voting in Romania begins at 7:00 a.m.

Candidates

The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) was constituted on 21 February 2025.^[25] The deadline for registering electoral alliances at the BEC was on 23 February 2025. By that deadline, only one electoral alliance was registered, between the governing PSD, PNL, and UDMR, called the Romania Forward Electoral Alliance (Alianța Electorală România Înainte; A.Ro for short).^[26]

Persons who wish to run for the office may begin gathering the support signatures (a minimum of 200,000) after 23 February. The deadline for registering the candidacy at the BEC is 15 March 2025, at 23:59:59. All candidatures validated by the BEC must pass the scrutiny of the Constitutional Court of Romania. As the procedures are currently undergoing, the following is a list of persons that have explicitly affirmed interest in running or not.^[27] On 19 March, Gavrilă withdrew her candidacy for president, endorsing Simion.^[28] A final list of all 11 candidates was released on the following day.^[29]

Registered candidates

Name	Born	Campaign	Public Office Experience	Alma mater and profession	Party		Endorsed by				Candidacy related dates
Nicușor Dan	20 December 1969 (55) Făgăraș, BV	Slogan: România onestă (Honest Romania!) nicusordan.ro	General Mayor of Bucharest (2020-present) deputy/MP (2016–2020) Bucharest General Councilor (2016)	University of Bucharest, École normale supérieure, University of Paris Mathematics professor		Independent		Justice and Respect in Europe for All Party			Announced intention to run: 16 December 2024[30] DREPT Party announces support: 18 December 2024[31] PMP, and FD announce support: 2 February 2025[32] REPER Party announces support: 1 March 2025[33] BEC registration: 7 March 2025[34] BEC validation: 9 March 2025[35] BEC validation upheld by Constitutional Court: 11 March 2025
								People's Movement Party
								Force of the Right
								Renewing Romania's European Project
Crin Antonescu	21 September 1959 (65) Tulcea, TL	Slogan: România, înainte! (Forward, Romania!) crinantonescu.ro	Acting President (2012) Minister of Youth and Sport (1997-2000) President of the Senate (2012–2014) senator (2008–2016) deputy/MP (1992–2008)	University of Bucharest History teacher, Museum curator		Independent[36]		Romania Forward Electoral Alliance		Social Democratic Party	Announced as common PSD, PNL, and UDMR candidate: 24 December 2024[37] Announced self-suspension of campaign: 4 January 2025[38] Validated as PNL candidate: 26 January 2025[39] Validated as UDMR candidate: 29 January 2025[40] Validated as PSD candidate: 2 February 2025[41] BEC registration: 9 March 2025[42] BEC validation: 11 March 2025[43] BEC validation upheld by Constitutional Court: 11 March 2025
										National Liberal Party
										Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania
								Minorities
Victor Ponta	20 September 1972 (52) Bucharest, IF	Slogan: România pe primul loc (Romania First!) victorponta.ro/	Prime Minister (2012-2015) deputy/MP (2004–2020, 2024-present) Minister of Parliamentary Relations (2008-2009) Minister-Delegate for Control of International Grant Programmes Implementation and for Monitoring the Application of the Acquis Communautaire (2004)	University of Bucharest Carol I National Defence University Prosecutor		Independent		PRO Romania			Expressed interest: 19 January 2025[44][45] Announced the collecting of supporting signatures: 5 February 2025[46] Announced intention to run: 19 February 2025[47] Launched campaign/program: 6 March 2025[48] BEC registration: 12 March 2025[49] BEC validation: 14 March 2025[50]
Elena Lasconi	20 April 1972 (52) Hațeg, HD	elenalasconi.ro	Mayor of Câmpulung (2020–present)	Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (2001)[51] Economist, journalist		Save Romania Union					Announced as still being the USR candidate: 10 January 2025[52] BEC registration: 13 March 2025[53] BEC validation: 15 March 2025[54]
Cristian Terheș	4 December 1978 (45) Zalău, SJ	Slogan: Credincios națiunii române (Faithful to the Romanian nation)	MEP (2019–present)	Babeș-Bolyai University (2000) Greek-Catholic priest		Romanian National Conservative Party					BEC registration: 13 March 2025[55] BEC validation: 15 March 2025[56]
Lavinia Șandru	6 February 1975 (50) Dej, CJ	no campaign information	deputy/MP (2004–2008)	University of Arts Târgu-Mureș Journalist		Social Liberal Humanist Party					BEC registration: 14 March 2025[57] BEC validation: 15 March 2025[58]
George Simion	21 September 1986 (38) Focșani, VN	Slogan: Democrație (Democracy) georgesimion.ro	deputy/MP (2020–present)	Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest (2008) Civic activist		Alliance for the Union of Romanians		Party of Young People			BEC registration: 14 March 2025[59] BEC validation: 15 March 2025[60]
John-Ion Banu Muscel	8 July 1960 (64) Roman, NT	no campaign information	no previous public office	Politehnica University of Bucharest Mechanical engineer		Independent					BEC registration: 14 March 2025[61] BEC validation: 15 March 2025[62]
Silviu Predoiu	5 August 1958 (66) Bucharest, IF	Motto: Competență. Caracter. Curaj (Competence. Character. Courage) https://silviupredoiu.ro/	Acting chief of Foreign Intelligence Service (2006, 2007), First deputy chief of Foreign Intelligence Service (2005-2018)	Faculty of Geography-Geology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest (1984)[63] Intelligence officer		National Action League Party					BEC registration: 15 March 2025[64] BEC validation: 17 March 2025[65]
Daniel Funeriu	11 April 1971 (53) Arad, AR	Motto: Asta-i direcția! (This is the direction!)	Minister of Education (2009–2012), MEP (2008–2009)	École européenne de chimie, polymères et matériaux Louis Pasteur University Chemist		Independent					BEC registration: 15 March 2025[66] BEC validation: 17 March 2025[67]
Sebastian-Constantin Popescu	12 February 1982 (43) Balș, OT	no campaign information	no previous public office	Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Veterinarian		New Romania Party					BEC registration: 15 March 2025[68] BEC validation: 17 March 2025[69]

Rejected candidates

The following is a list of people that have filed a candidacy at the Central Electoral Bureau and were rejected for not complying the legal requirements to be allowed to run.

Name	Born	Campaign	Public Office Experience	Alma mater and profession	Party		Endorsed by		Candidacy related dates
Petru Mîndru	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	no campaign information	no previous public office	undisclosed education undisclosed profession		Independent			BEC registration: 6 March 2025[70] BEC rejection: 6 March 2025[71] Second BEC registration: 13 March 2025 Second BEC rejection: 15 March 2025[72] Third BEC registration: 15 March 2025 Third BEC rejection: 17 March 2025[73]
Maria Marcu	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	no campaign information	no previous public office	undisclosed education undisclosed profession		Independent			BEC registration: 7 March 2025 BEC rejection: 9 March 2025[74] Second BEC registration: 9 March 2025 Second BEC rejection: 11 March 2025[75] Third BEC registration: 14 March 2025 Third BEC rejection: 15 March 2025[76] Fourth BEC registration: 15 March 2025 Fourth BEC rejection: 17 March 2025[77]
Ion Popa	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	no campaign information	no previous public office	undisclosed education undisclosed profession		Independent			BEC registration: 7 March 2025 BEC rejection: 9 March 2025[78]
Călin Georgescu	26 March 1962 (62) Bucharest, IF	no campaign information	Executive director of the United Nations Global Sustainable Index Institute in Geneva (2015–2016) Executive director of the National Center of Sustainable Development (1997–2013) Secretary of State with the Ministry of Environment (c. 2010)	University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest (1986) Agronomist		Independent		Alliance for the Union of Romanians	BEC registration: 7 March 2025[79] BEC rejection: 9 March 2025[80][81] BEC rejection upheld by Constitutional Court: 11 March 2025[82]
								Party of Young People
Matei Vanea	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	no campaign information	no previous public office	undisclosed education undisclosed profession		Independent			BEC registration: 13 March 2025 BEC rejection: 15 March 2025[83]
Paul Ispas	36 (undisclosed birthplace)	no campaign information	no previous public office	Political scientist (undisclosed university)[84] Analyst		Independent			BEC registration: 14 March 2025[85] BEC rejection: 15 March 2025[86]
Constantin Vieriu	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	no campaign information	no previous public office	undisclosed education undisclosed profession		Independent			BEC registration: 13 March 2025 BEC rejection: 15 March 2025[87]
Diana Iovanovici Șoșoacă	13 November 1975 (49) Bucharest, IF	no campaign information	MEP (2024-present) Senator (2020–2024)	Romanian-American University (possible), undisclosed graduation year[88] Lawyer		S.O.S. Romania			BEC registration: 13 March 2025 BEC rejection: 15 March 2025[89]
Tiță Gicu-Romeo	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	no campaign information	no previous public office	undisclosed education undisclosed profession		Independent			BEC registration: 15 March 2025 BEC rejection: 17 March 2025[90]
Remus Pricopie	22 January 1970 (55) Ceahlău, NT	no campaign information	Minister of Education (2012-2014)	National University of Political Studies and Public Administration Education administrator		Independent			BEC registration: 15 March 2025[91] BEC rejection: 17 March 2025[92]
Oana Crețu	2 December 1975 (49) Bucharest, IF	no campaign information	no previous public office	Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy[93] Lawyer		United Social Democratic Party			BEC registration: 15 March 2025[94] BEC rejection: 17 March 2025[95]
Constantin-Titian Filip	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	no campaign information	no previous public office	undisclosed education undisclosed profession		Independent			BEC registration: 15 March 2025[96] BEC rejection: 17 March 2025[97]
Gelu Drăgan	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	no campaign information	no previous public office	undisclosed education undisclosed profession		Independent			BEC registration: 15 March 2025[98] BEC rejection: 17 March 2025[99]

Expressed interest publicly but failed to register in time

Name	Born	Campaign	Public Office Experience	Alma mater and profession	Party		Candidacy related dates
Cristian Sima [ro]	22 May 1961 (63) Budești, CL	Slogan: Schimbă Constituția (Change the Constitution) cristiansima.ro/ schimbaconstitutia.ro/	Member of the Council of Administration of Bucharest Stock Exchange (2007)	University of Bucharest Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa		Independent	Announced intention to run: 27 December 2024[100] Announced failure to rally enough support (signatures): 15 March 2025[101]
Ana Birchall	30 August 1973 (51) Mizil, PH	no campaign information	Deputy Prime Minister (2018-2019) Minister of Justice deputy/MP (2012-2020)	Yale Law School Lawyer		Independent	Announced intention to run: 7 January 2025[102][103] did not register by the deadline; no public statement regarding the elections
Anton Pisaroglu	(undisclosed age) undisclosed birthplace	antonpentrudemocratie.ro	no previous public office	Political consultant		Independent	Announced intention to run: 11 March 2025 Announced renounciation at filing his candidacy: 15 March 2025[104]

Declined to run or publicly withdrawn

Name	Born	Public Office Experience	Alma mater and profession	Party		Endorsing Candidacy dates
Ilie Bolojan	17 March 1969 (56) Vadu Crișului, BH	Acting President of Romania (2025–) President of the Senate of Romania (2024–) Mayor of Oradea (2008–2020) President of Bihor County (2020–2024)[2]	West University of Timișoara Politehnica University of Timișoara Engineer		National Liberal Party	Crin Antonescu
Dan Puric	12 February 1959 (66) Buzău, BZ	no previous public office	Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film Actor		Independent
Cătălin Avramescu [ro]	12 July 1967 (57) Mizil, PH	Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia	University of Bucharest Professor[105]		Independent
Marcel Ciolacu	28 November 1967 (57) Buzău, BZ	Prime Minister of Romania (2023–present) President of the Chamber of Deputies (2019–2020; 2021–2023)[106]	Ecological University of Bucharest Lawyer, Manager		Social Democratic Party	Crin Antonescu
Anamaria Gavrilă	15 October 1983 (41) Deva, HD	deputy/MP (2020–present)[107]	West University of Timișoara Economist[108]		Party of Young People	BEC registration: 15 March 2025[109] BEC validation: 17 March 2025[110][111] Withdrawn in favor of George Simion: 19 March 2025

Opinion polls

First round (after BEC deadline)

Poll	Date	Sample	Simion AUR	Gavrilă POT	Dan Ind.	Antonescu Ind.	Ponta Ind.	Lasconi USR	Funeriu Ind.	Șandru PUSL	Others
Sociopol	17–18 Mar 2025	1,005	32%	—	17%	15%	23%	12%	—	—	1%
AtlasIntel	13–15 Mar 2025	2,381	—	30.2%	25.3%	17.7%	9.2%	3.9%	2.5%	0.5%	10.6%
			30.4%	—	26.0%	17.9%	9.0%	3.9%	1.8%	0.6%	10.5%

First round (before BEC deadline)

Poll	Date	Sample	Georgescu Ind.	Lasconi USR	Simion AUR	Becali AUR	Bolojan PNL	Terheș PNCR	Birchall Ind.	Antonescu Ind.	Dan Ind.	Șoșoacă S.O.S.	Funeriu Ind.	Ponta Ind.	Others
Sociopol	3–7 Mar 2025	1,000	38%	8%	10%	—	—	—	—	14%	14%	—	—	16%	—
			—	12%	28%	—	—	—	—	18%	19%	—	—	22%	1%
MKOR	25–28 Feb 2025	1,100	44.1%	9.4%	0.6%	1.8%	14.7%	—	—	8.9%	14.2%	—	—	4.2%	2.1%
Verifield	14–28 Feb 2025	1,000	41.1%	7.0%	—	—	—	1.0%	—	18.5%	12.4%	3.0%	1.0%	—	16%
AtlasIntel	21–24 Feb 2025	2,947	38.4%	5.8%	0.9%	—	—	—	—	15.8%	25.4%	—	—	7.5%	6.2%
FlashData	14–16 Feb 2025	7,500	37%	9%	—	—	—	—	0.5%	17%	21%	3%	1%	5%	6.5%
Sociopol	10–14 Feb 2025	1,001	45%	10%	6%	—	—	—	—	10%	10%	2%	—	16%	1%
			—	9%	24%	—	—	—	—	14%	16%	9%	—	22%	1%
Sociopol	27–30 Jan 2025	1,003	47%	8%	4%	—	—	—	—	10%	10%	4%	—	16%	1%
			—	9%	24%	—	—	—	—	14%	16%	14%	—	22%	1%
CURS	21–25 Jan 2025	1,100	37%	7%	—	—	—	—	—	18%	21%	4%	—	—	13%
			—	13%	25%	—	—	—	—	23%	24%	—	—	—	15%
Avangarde	10–16 Jan 2025	1,354	38%	6%	6%	—	—	—	—	25%	17%	5%	—	—	3%
Sociopol	10–15 Jan 2025	1,001	50%	10%	6%	—	—	—	—	8%	10%	5%	—	15%	1%
			—	13%	35%	—	—	—	—	10%	13%	—	—	26%	3%
Noi, Cetățenii	23 Dec 2024–13 Jan 2025	1,067	35%	8%	2%	—	—	—	—	16%	25%	8%	—	8%	6%
			—	9%	30%	—	—	—	—	16%	26%	—	—	12%	7%
Cozmin Gușă	28–29 Dec 2024	—	39%	9%	—	—	—	—	—	17%	14%	9%	5%	—	7%
Nicușor Dan	Dec 2024[e]	—	40%	8%	—	—	—	—	—	24%	18%	—	—	—	10%
Election	24 Nov 2024	9,242,186	22.94%	19.18%	13.86%[f]		8.79%[g]	1.04%	0.46%	—	—	—	—	—	33.73%

Hypothetical second round scenarios

Antonescu vs Dan

Poll	Date	Sample	Antonescu Ind.	Dan Ind.	Undecided
AtlasIntel	13–15 Mar 2025	2,381	25.1%	35.2%	39.6%

Antonescu vs Georgescu

Poll	Date	Sample	Antonescu Ind.	Georgescu Ind.	Undecided
Avangarde	10–16 Jan 2025	1,354	38.0%	39.0%	23.0%

Bolojan vs Georgescu

Poll	Date	Sample	Bolojan PNL	Georgescu Ind.	Undecided
MKOR	25–28 Feb 2025	1,100	42.0%	40.0%	18.0%

Dan vs Gavrila

Poll	Date	Sample	Dan Ind.	Gavrilă POT	Undecided
AtlasIntel	13–15 Mar 2025	2,381	40.1%	31.7%	28.3%

Dan vs Georgescu

Poll	Date	Sample	Dan Ind.	Georgescu Ind.	Undecided
MKOR	25–28 Feb 2025	1,100	36.0%	42.0%	22.0%
AtlasIntel	21–24 Feb 2025	2,947	45.0%	40.9%	14.5%
Noi, Cetățenii	23 Dec 2024–16 Feb 2025	1,067	50.0%	50.0%	—
Avangarde	10–16 Jan 2025	1,354	32.0%	43.0%	25.0%

Dan vs Lasconi

Poll	Date	Sample	Dan Ind.	Lasconi USR	Undecided
AtlasIntel	13–15 Mar 2025	2,381	41.4%	5.2%	53.4%

Dan vs Ponta

Poll	Date	Sample	Dan Ind.	Ponta Ind.	Undecided
AtlasIntel	13–15 Mar 2025	2,381	43.2%	17.5%	39.3%
Noi, Cetățenii	23 Dec 2024–13 Jan 2025	1,067	55.0%	45.0%	—

Dan vs Simion

Poll	Date	Sample	Dan Ind.	Simion AUR	Undecided
AtlasIntel	13–15 Mar 2025	2,381	42.1%	35.3%	22.6%
Noi, Cetățenii	23 Dec 2024–13 Jan 2025	1,067	54.0%	46.0%	—

Georgescu vs Lasconi

Poll	Date	Sample	Georgescu Ind.	Lasconi USR	Undecided
Avangarde	10–16 Jan 2025	1,354	44.0%	31.0%	25.0%

See also

• Opinion polling for the 2024 Romanian presidential election
• 2024–2025 Romanian election annulment protests

Notes

1. Endorsed by A.Ro (PSD, PNL, UDMR) and Minorities
2. Endorsed by the POT
3. Endorsed by DREPT, PMP, FD and REPER
4. Endorsed by PRO Romania
5. Poll conducted around the holidays
6. With the candidacy of Simion
7. With the candidacy of Ciucă