Romania election: Vote after corruption crackdown

Voting booths at a polling station, in Bucharest, Romania

Parliamentary elections are under way in Romania, a little more than a year after a corruption crackdown forced the last prime minister from power. 

Victor Ponta resigned after mass protests following a deadly nightclub fire in October 2015, which became a platform for wider discontent. The country is one of the poorest in the European Union, and corruption is seen as a major problem.

Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos (right) lighting a candle on the one-year anniversary of Bucharest's nightclub fire

The leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) is expected to come first. This would be a major comeback for the party, which Mr Ponta once headed. However, it may have to form a coalition to achieve a majority.

A total of 504 seats are up for re-election. Polls close at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT). The first results are expected on Monday morning.


The PSD wants to install party leader Liviu Dragnea as prime minister, but he is currently serving a suspended sentence for electoral fraud, which legally bars him from office.

Romania's current leader, Dacian Ciolos, an independent, took over as a caretaker in November 2015.
The centre-right National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union (a new party created by a mathematician-turned-activist) have said they would support Mr Ciolos in continuing his role.

The technocrat and former EU agriculture commissioner has expressed a willingness, but said he wants to remain an independent.

Many Romanians saw the 2015 fire at Colectiv club in Bucharest, when 64 people died, as a tipping point. The tragedy prompted a nationwide attempt to clean the country up.

The National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the agency responsible for the campaign, has made an impact over the past year, putting former government ministers, media moguls, judges and other powerful figures under investigation.

Romanians have largely backed the call for the anti-corruption campaign to be a priority for the next government.