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Legislative elections were held in Romania on 11 December 2016. They were the first held under a new electoral system adopted in 2015, which saw a return to the proportional electoral system last used in the 2004 elections. The new electoral legislation provides a norm of representation for deputies of 73,000 inhabitants and 168,000 inhabitants for senators, which decreased the number of MPs. A total of 466 parliamentary seats (308 deputies, 18 minority deputies, and 134 senators) were contested, compared with the 588 parliamentarians elected in 2012. The diaspora was represented by four deputies and two senators, elected by
postal vote Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system. In an el ...
. The elections saw a turnout of 39.5%, lower than in 2012 but slightly higher than in the 2008 elections.


New electoral system

The legislative election of 2016 unfolded differently compared to
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
and
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. On 24 February 2015, the Electoral Code Commission decided in principle for the future electoral law to return to
party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
, thereby relinquishing the
first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
(uninominal) voting system as introduced in 2008. The option of turning the Parliament of Romania into a perfectly bicameral parliament, with some 300 deputies being elected on a closed list and 100 senators being elected by a single-round uninominal majority vote, had been discussed for years and even agreed upon between the ruling
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
(PSD) and the opposition. The new electoral law promulgated by
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 ...
Klaus Iohannis on 20 July 2015 however did not retain uninominal constituencies for the Senate. Closely sticking to the commission's recommendations, the new electoral law completely returned to party-list proportional representation. With a representation norm of one deputy per 73,000 inhabitants and one senator per 168,000 inhabitants, a total of 308 deputies were elected, to which are added the 18 deputies of minorities, 134 senators and 6 MPs of diaspora (two senators and four deputies). All in all this totals to a number of 466 MPs, five fewer than in 2008 and 122 fewer than in 2012. While for single-party lists the
electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
is kept at 5%, a higher threshold of 8–10% is introduced for
electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...
s. For the first time the Romanian electors residing abroad were able to cast their vote via mail, in a reaction to the flawed procedures at the 2014 presidential election.


Parties

Although the image of
Victor Ponta Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian jurist and politician, who served as Prime Minister of Romania between his appointment by President Traian Băsescu in May 2012 and his resignation in November 2015. A former member of ...
and his
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
(PSD) was badly affected by corruption scandals and a recent wave of protests, the party remains one of the two major parties in Romania. Besides the PSD, the Romanian party system however went through a number of substantial regroupings.


Major regroupings

Leading centre-left
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
(PSD) and the
Centre Right Alliance The Centre Right Alliance ( ro, Alianţa de Centru Dreapta, ACD) was a centre-right political alliance between 2011 and 2013. History Formation The alliance was founded in January 2011 by the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Conservative ...
(ACD) of 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 National Liberal Party (PNL) contested the 2012 legislative election under the joint ticket of the
Social Liberal Union The Social Liberal Union ( ro, Uniunea Social Liberală, USL) was a grand coalition of several political parties in Romania. The alliance contained two major centre-left and centre-right parties, more specifically the Social Democratic Party (PSD ...
(USL). They won an absolute majority to form a government headed by prime minister
Victor Ponta Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian jurist and politician, who served as Prime Minister of Romania between his appointment by President Traian Băsescu in May 2012 and his resignation in November 2015. A former member of ...
. Over time, the PC and PNL increasingly distanced themselves from each other, with the PC – despite its name – embracing
social liberalism Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
and being affected by corruption scandals involving its leader,
Dan Voiculescu Dan Voiculescu (; born September 25, 1946) is a Romanian politician and businessman. He is the founder and former president of the Romanian Humanist Party (PUR), later renamed the Conservative Party (PC). He was a senator from 2004 until his r ...
, who was subsequently sentenced to prison for money laundering. In turn, the PNL dropped out of the coalition government in February 2014. Formerly affiliated with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the party applied for membership in the European People's Party (EPP) and was later accepted as a member. The PNL's shift to the right led to a faction led by
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 ...
leaving to form the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR), which then merged with the PC to found the Romanian Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), named after the European party. This move was criticized by Conservative MEP Maria Grapini, who accused her party of betrayal. Subsequently, the PNL joined forces with the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), which itself had suffered a split when
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 ...
left to form the People's Movement (PMP). Ahead of a complete merger, the PDL and PNL formed the
Christian Liberal Alliance The Christian Liberal Alliance ( ro, Alianța Creștin-Liberală, ACL), also known as the PNL-PDL Alliance ( ro, Alianța PNL-PDL), was a centre-right electoral alliance in Romania. The alliance was founded on 28 July 2014 by the National Liberal ...
(ACL), which successfully fielded Klaus Iohannis in the November 2014 presidential election. The two parties fully merged on 17 November 2014 under the name of National Liberal Party (PNL). In June 2015, the left-wing National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) which was previously in the
Centre Left Alliance The Centre Left Alliance (Romanian: ''Alianţa de Centru Stânga'', ACS) was a political alliance between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) founded in August 2012. The alliance was par ...
(ACS) with the Social Democrats (PSD), absorbed the remainders of dissolved populist PP-DD after the latter's founder
Dan Diaconescu Dan Cristian Diaconescu (; born December 9, 1967 in Caracal, Socialist Republic of Romania) is a Romanian journalist, politician, presenter, the founder and owner of the former DDTV and OTV television channels. He graduated from the Faculty of ...
was convicted for
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
. UNPR president
Gabriel Oprea Gabriel Oprea (; born 1 January 1961) is a Romanian politician and a general in the army reserves. The former president of the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) and a former member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) who is now a ...
advanced an independent list for his party for the 2016 legislative election. Though it aimed to win 10% of national vote on its own, the party also reaffirmed its commitment to the Centre Left Alliance (ACS) with the PSD. However, in July 2016, UNPR joined the right-leaning
People's Movement Party The People's Movement Party ( ro, Partidul Mișcarea Populară, PMP) is a minor extra-parliamentary nominally centre-right Christian democratic, national-conservative political party in Romania. History The PMP was created as a political founda ...
(PMP) led by former president
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 ...
, despite protests from some UNPR members. Oprea, himself under investigation for
abuse of power Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
, resigned from the party and declared his intention to leave politics.


Further developments

A new nationalist party, United Romania Party (PRU), was founded by MP Bogdan Diaconu on 17 August 2014 and became official by court decision on 17 February 2015. Also notable was the rise of the Union for the Salvation of Romania (USR), a party recently created from its base in Bucharest as the Union for the Salvation of Bucharest. Led by
Nicușor Dan Nicușor Dan (born 20 December 1969) is a Romanian activist, mathematician, former member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania as well as former founder and leader of the centre-right Romanian political party Save Romania Union (USR). He is cu ...
, a mathematics professor, it was a reformist group of newcomers to politics committed to rooting out corruption. Polling suggested that the USR would exceed its goal of winning 10% of the popular vote. The
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR; hu, Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség, RMDSZ; ro, Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România, UDMR) is a political party in Romania which aims to represent the significant Hungarian m ...
(UDMR/RMDSZ), the largest party representing an ethnic minority, was also projected to be represented in the parliament.


Opinion polls


Graphical summary of the polls


Results


Chamber of Deputies


Senate


See also

* List of members of the Senate of Romania (2016–2020) * List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania (2016–2020)


Notes


References


External links

{{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, and ...
Legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
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, and ...
Parliamentary elections in Romania