This article lists political parties in Romania. Romania has a democratic

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...

with numerous political parties, in which a political party does not often have the chance of gaining parliamentary majority alone, and, thus, parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. The current system was established following the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

of 1989 and the adoption of a new constitution in 1991; prior to these events, Romania was a single-party state under the rulership of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). Since the early 1990s, Romanian politics saw a gradual decrease in the number of political parties entering the Parliament and a relative consolidation of existing ones along ideological lines. Major political parties can be roughly grouped into three main "families", more specifically

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, social democratic, or

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. Extremist groups have a relatively low political profile in Romania, despite a surge in popularity of far-right and Eurosceptic political parties across many

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(EU) countries during the 2010s.

Party switching Party switching is any change in political party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one currently holding elected office. Party switching also occurs quite commonly in Brazil, Italy, Romania, Ukraine, India, Malaysia , and the P ...

( ro, traseism politic) remains a very concerning and significant issue, however, as does widespread corruption, leading to an overall low level of public trust in political parties (12% in December 2014). To counter this perception, the two largest parties as of 2015 (namely the Social Democrats and the National Liberals) have allegedly initiated a series of internal reforms to strengthen their integrity criteria and impose disciplinary sanctions on party members investigated or convicted on corruption charges.

Legal framework

Article 40 of the Constitution of Romania states that citizens can freely associate into political parties, with the exception of judges, military, and police personnel as well as other civil servants which are apolitical by law. The same article bans political parties which campaign against political pluralism, the rule of law, and Romania's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Romania's party system is regulated by Law no. 14/2003 on political parties; the law initially mandated a list of 25,000 supporters, residing in at least 18

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and the

Municipality of Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, for a political party to be formally registered. Nevertheless, in February 2015, the unregistered Pirate Party of Romania ( ro, Partidul Pirat din România) filed a complaint to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

, arguing that the list requirement is a violation of the constitutional provisions on

freedom of association Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline mem ...

. The Court subsequently struck down the requirement as unconstitutional, and on 6 May 2015, the Romanian Parliament approved a modified version of the law, which allows the formation of a political party with 3 signatures.

Parties represented in the Parliament

The current political parties with parliamentary representation, in order of the number of representatives they had obtained in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate following the 2020 legislative elections, are the following ones: }) , PSD , 1989
2001 , Marcel Ciolacu ,

Social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

,
Social conservatism,

Pro-Europeanism Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Polit ...

Centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, 104 , 47 , 8 , PES , - ! National Liberal Party Romania

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( ro, Partidul Național Liberal) , PNL , 1875
1990 ,

Nicolae Ciucă Nicolae Ionel Ciucă (; born 7 February 1967) is a Romanian politician and retired general of the Romanian Land Forces. Ideologically a conservative, he has been serving as Prime Minister of Romania since 25 November 2021 after receiving widespr ...

Conservative liberalism Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, ''Repre ...

,
Liberal conservatism,

, , 81 , 39 , 10 , EPP , - ! Logo USR 2022 (1)

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Save Romania Union The Save Romania Union ( ro, Uniunea Salvați România, USR) is a liberal political party active in Romania and Moldova, currently the third largest party in the Parliament with 43 deputies and 22 senators, and fifth at national level (followin ...

( ro, Uniunea Salvați România) , USR , 2016 , Cătălin Drulă ,

Anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive meas ...

Liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

Neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

Progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

, 43 , 22 , 3 ,

Renew Renew or renewal may refer to: Media and entertainment * ''Renew'' (album), a 2002 album by The Badlees * ''Renewal'' (film), a 2008 documentary on the religious environmental movement * ''Renewal'' (magazine), a UK journal of Labour politics * ' ...

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Alliance for the Union of Romanians The Alliance for the Union of Romanians ( ro, Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor, AUR) is a right-wing populist and nationalist political party currently active in Romania and Moldova. It was founded on 19 September 2019. This was done with the ...

( ro, Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor) , AUR , 2019 ,

George Simion George Nicolae Simion (born 21 September 1986 in Focșani, Romania) is a Romanian right-wing to far-right politician and civic activist. He is the president of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a political party in Romania that g ...

Romanian nationalism Romanian nationalism is the nationalism which asserts that Romanians are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Romanians. Its extremist variation is the Romanian ultranationalism.Aristotle KallisGenocide and Fascism: The Eliminationist Drive ...

Conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

,
Romanian-Moldovan unionism,
Right-wing populism,

Soft Euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...

, Right-wing to
far-right , 24 , 12 , 0 , ECR
, - ! RMDSZlogo

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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 ...

( ro, Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România),
( hu, Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség) , UDMR
RMDSZ , 1989 , , Hungarian minority interests,
Social conservatism,
Regionalism,

Centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

, 20 , 9 , 2 , EPP , - ! ! style="background-color: " , ,

Force of the Right Force of the Right ( ro, Forța Dreptei, FD), sometimes translated as Right's Force or Right Force, is a liberal-conservative political party in Romania founded in December 2021 by Ludovic Orban, former National Liberal Party (PNL) president and ...

( ro, Forța Dreptei) , FD , 2021 ,

Ludovic Orban Ludovic Orban (; born 25 May 1963) is a Romanian engineer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania from November 2019 to December 2020. He was president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) between 2017 and 2021, which expelled ...

, Christian democracy,
Liberal conservatism,
Right-wing populism,

, ) , , 2022 , Dragoș Pîslaru
Ramona Strugariu ,

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 ...

, 10 , 2 , 5 ,

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Social Liberal Humanist Party The Social Liberal Humanist Party ( ro, Partidul Umanist Social Liberal, PUSL), formerly Humanist Power Party (Social-Liberal) ( ro, Partidul Puterii Umaniste (social-liberal), PPU-SL) is a centrist to centre-left political party in Romania. It ...

( ro, Partidul Umanist Social Liberal) , , 2015 , Daniel Ionașcu ,

Humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...

Protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulatio ...

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

, 4 , 1 , 1 , ''None'' , - ! ! style="background-color: gold , ,

Romanian Nationhood Party The Romanian Nationhood Party ( ro, Partidul Neamul Românesc, NR or PNR) is a far-right, Romanian nationalist political party. It was founded by Ninel Peia, a former member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). The party is critical of Hung ...

( ro, Partidul Neamului Românesc) , , 2018 ,

Ninel Peia Ninel is a given name. It is feminine in the former Soviet Union and masculine in Romania. In many Soviet cases, it is often considered to be derived from reversing the surname Lenin. It may refer to: *Ninel Aladova (born 1934), Belarusian archite ...

,
National conservatism,

Anti-immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

,
Right-wing populism,

Euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

, Right-wing to
far-right , 4 , 1 , 0 , ''None'' , - In addition, ethnic minority organizations are granted each seat in the Chamber of Deputies if: (1) are the sole official representative organization of the minority; (2) they participate in the legislative election and do not pass the 5% threshold but obtain at least 10% of the number of votes calculated to correspond to electing one deputy. These seats are added to the number of seats put up for election. As of 2021, there are eighteen such seats. The Hungarian minority organization, the

(UDMR/RMDSZ) has always passed the 5% threshold for both houses of the Romanian Parliament, and has been treated as a regular political party (and acting like one as well).

Parties only represented in the European Parliament

Besides the parties represented in the Romanian Parliament, the following parties only have representation in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

: }) , PMP , 2014 , Eugen Tomac , , , 2 , European People's Party , - ! PRO_România

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PRO Romania PRO Romania (, PRO) is a minor extra-parliamentary social liberal political party in Romania. History The founding of PRO Romania was initiated in 2017 by former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, former acting/ad interim Prime Minister and Minist ...

( ro, PRO România) , PRO , 2018 ,

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 ...

, 1 ,

European Democratic Party The European Democratic Party (EDP) (French: Parti Démocrate Européen; PDE) also known as the European Democrats, is a centrist European political party in favour of European integration. François Bayrou is the President of the party. All ...

, - ! ! width=5px style="background-color: , , Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party
( ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc Creștin Democrat) , PNȚCD , 1989 , Aurelian Pavelescu , Christian democracy
Agrarianism
National conservatism

Monarchism Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

to right-wing , 1 ,

European Christian Political Movement The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) is the only European political party explicitly working on promoting Christian values. The party unites national parties and individuals from across Europe who share policies influenced by Chris ...

Minor parties

Ethnic minority organizations

Parties with elected representation at local and county level

The following are political parties which ran by themselves at the 2020 local elections and won elected representation at local and county level (does not include seats won on alliance tickets): The following parties have won seats in the 2020 local elections only as part of

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 ...

Defunct parties

Parties active 1859–1918

Parties active 1918−1947

The following parties were all active in Romania in the interwar period and, in some cases, through and after World War II. Dates of founding and dissolution are given, where known. Failing that, the earliest and latest dates known for activities are given. This period saw the proliferation of numerous extremist parties inspired by

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

and

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

. The latter were effectively banned in 1924 by the so-called Mârzescu law. A succession of coups drastically altered the political landscape as Romania went through a single-party dictatorship under the

National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front ( ro, Frontul Renașterii Naționale, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romani ...

(1938–1940), then a military dictatorship without political parties (1940–1944), then briefly returning to multiparty democracy before finally becoming a

people's republic People's republic is an official title, usually used by some currently or formerly communist or left-wing states. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic- ...

(1944–1947).

Communist-era parties (1947–1989)

Although distinct parties in the

communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist ...

were not politically relevant, the following were the officially recognized political forces: Other parties were allowed to exist, with unclear status, until mid 1948.Frunză, p.357

Post−1989 parties

Notes

References

''110 ani de social-democrație în România'' ("110 Years of Social Democracy in Romania")

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 ...

, Ovidiu Șincai Social Democratic Institute, Bucharest, July 9, 2003 *Ion Constantinescu, "Dr. N. Lupu: «Dacă și d-ta ai fi fost bătut...»" ("Dr. N. Lupu: «If You Yourself Had Been Beaten...»"), in Magazin Istoric, August 1971 *Victor Frunză, ''Istoria stalinismului în România'' ("History of Stalinism in Romania"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1990
Victoria Gabriela Gruber, Summary of ''Partidul Național Liberal (Gheorghe Brătianu)'' (PDF file)

in ''Erasmus'', 1997 * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070313170820/http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol.php?id=1905 Paula Mihailov, "Dubla criză a 'României profunde'" ("The Double Crisis of 'Profound Romania'") in ''

Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchare ...

'', July 12, 2005 *Vasile Niculae, Ion Ilincioiu, Stelian Neagoe, ''Doctrina țărănistă în România. Antologie de texte'' ("Peasant Doctrine in Romania. Collected Texts"), Editura Noua Alternativă, Social Theory Institute of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

, Bucharest, 1994 *

Z. Ornea Zigu Ornea (; born Zigu Orenstein Andrei Vasilescu"La ceas aniversar – Cornel Popa la 75 de ani: 'Am refuzat numeroase demnități pentru a rămâne credincios logicii și filosofiei analitice.' ", in Revista de Filosofie Analitică', Vol. II, N ...

, Introduction and chronological table to George Panu, ''Amintiri de la "Junimea" din Iași'' ("Recollections from the Iași ''Junimea''"), Ed. Minerva, Bucharest, 1998
Petre Otu, "1946-1947. Se pregătește guvernul Argetoianu!" ("1946-1948. An Argetoianu Government Is Under Preparation!")
in ''Magazin Istoric'', May 2000 *Ioan Scurtu, ''Viața Politică din România 1918–1914'' ("Political Life in Romania 1918–1914"), Editura Albatros, Bucharest, 1982 *M. Ștefan, "În umbra Cortinei de Fier" ("In the Shadow of the Iron Curtain"), in ''Magazin Istoric'', November 1995 *Francisco Veiga, ''Istoria Gărzii de Fier, 1919-1941: Mistica ultranaționalismului'' ("History of the Iron Guard, 1919-1941: The Mystique of Ultra-Nationalism"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1993 *Nicolae Videnie, "«Alegerile» din martie 1948: epilogul listelor electorale alternative. Obsesia unanimității — primii pași" ("The «Elections» of March 1948: an Epilogue to Alternative Electoral Lists. Unanimity Obsession — The First Steps Taken"), in ''Dosarele Istoriei'', 11/V, 2000

External links

*

("Political programs of major parties in interwar Romania") {{Historical Romanian political parties

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 ...

Political parties Political parties

Legal framework

Parties represented in the Parliament

Parties only represented in the European Parliament

Minor parties

Ethnic minority organizations

Parties with elected representation at local and county level

Defunct parties

Parties active 1859–1918

Parties active 1918−1947

Communist-era parties (1947–1989)

Post−1989 parties

See also

Notes

References

External links