Following the second round of presidential elections in Romania on 18 May, the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), in cooperation with Expert Forum (EFOR) and the Vot Corect coalition of citizen election observers, hosted a high-level roundtable in Bucharest to discuss the findings and conclusions of the election observation in Romania.

The event brought together key Romanian stakeholders, including representatives of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP), the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications of Romania (ANCOM), and the Special Telecommunications Service (STS), alongside high-level representatives of political parties. It also featured senior members of the diplomatic community and representatives of the OSCE/ODIHR’s Romania Repeat Presidential Election Observation Mission. The event aimed to reflect on the findings of independent observers from the Vot Corect Coalition and the OSCE/ODIHR Mission, and to discuss the need for targeted electoral reforms.

High-Level Engagement and Insights from Election Expert

The roundtable was facilitated by Adam Busuleanu, Senior Program Officer at EPDE, and was formally opened with remarks by the German Ambassador, H.E. Dr. Peer Gebauer, whose contribution lent significant diplomatic support to the discussion. The roundtable benefited from the expertise of leading Romanian election experts Septimius Pârvu and Maria Krause, whose contributions were pivotal in identifying core challenges and formulating key recommendations for electoral reform.

Key Takeaways from observing the 2025 presidential elections in Romania

The second round of the 2025 Romanian presidential elections took place in a politically charged and highly polarized environment, featuring two candidates with sharply contrasting political visions: far-right candidate George Simion and center-right Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan. While the electoral process was technically well-organized, the campaign period and broader electoral context were marred by disinformation, aggressive rhetoric, a insufficient transparency in the work of some election management bodies, and the law transparency of campaign financing of the candidate Simion. Additional concerns included the transparency of social media campaigning and financing, as well as allegations of foreign influence. These issues collectively contributed to undermining public trust in the electoral system among Romanian voters.

For further insights see:

Vot Corect Coalition: Preliminary report on the observation of the 2025 presidential elections (2nd round)

Vot Corect Coalition: Election Observation Preliminary Conclusions Presidential Election (1st Round)

OSCE/ODIHR: Romania, Repeat Presidential Election, Second Round: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions