Romanian presidential elections re-run set for May 4 and 18, coalition confirms Crin Antonescu’s candidacy

The presidential elections in Romania will be held on May 4 (first round) and May 18 (second round), according to a decision made Wednesday evening by the governing coalition. The coalition parties have also reaffirmed their support for Crin Antonescu’s candidacy for the presidency.

The announcement was made in a press release following the coalition meeting.

„In the first coalition meeting of the year, the political parties agreed that the first round of the presidential elections will take place on May 4, and the second round will be held on May 18.

This decision considers the necessity of holding the first round of elections simultaneously with partial elections in certain counties (elections for mayors in 13 municipalities, including the Mayor’s Offices of Bușteni and Zalău, as well as the Bihor County Council) and the need to avoid overlap with the Easter and Palm Sunday holidays,” the statement reads.

Next week, the government is set to adopt an emergency ordinance and a government decision to formalize the coalition’s decisions, the press release adds.

„The coalition reaffirmed that Mr. Crin Antonescu remains its candidate for the presidential elections,” the coalition parties announced.

Furthermore, it was decided that the state budget will be presented at the coalition meeting by January 27, so it can be approved by Parliament in the first week of February.

Original Report: The two rounds of the presidential elections were initially proposed to be held either on May 4 and 18 or May 11 and 25, according to political sources cited by G4Media. These scenarios were discussed Wednesday evening during the coalition meeting.

The campaign and elections will thus take place after Easter, which is celebrated on April 20 by both Orthodox and Catholic Christians.

It is worth noting that the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), and opposition parties had publicly called for the elections to be held before Easter. However, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) delayed the calendar.

On December 6, the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) annulled the previous presidential elections, as announced in a statement. While the CCR did not explain its reasons, the decision followed the declassification of intelligence from secret services documenting interference by a „state actor” in the campaign of candidate Călin Georgescu.

The CCR also ruled that the electoral process for electing Romania’s president must be entirely restarted, with the government setting a new date. This means the elections will begin from scratch, requiring candidates to re-register and undergo validation by the Central Electoral Bureau.

The annulment came amid revelations of interference by Russia in the elections, as uncovered through declassified intelligence.