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VoteRights

Romania

Europe · ro

Semi-presidential republic; president elected by direct popular vote in a two-round system; a Constitutional Court oversees electoral validity.

Profile last reviewed July 23, 2026

Romania introduced universal male suffrage after the First World War and full universal suffrage, including women, in 1946 — immediately before four decades of single-party rule. Competitive elections returned in 1990. In December 2024 the Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the presidential election after declassified intelligence described a coordinated, undeclared online campaign promoting one candidate, and the re-run was held in 2025. It is the clearest case so far of a democracy voiding a national vote over how the campaign was fought rather than over how the votes were counted.

How voting works today

Voting age
18 and over
Voter registration
Automatic
Identification
Photo ID required
Compulsory voting
No
Postal voting
Restricted
Early voting
Not available
Online voting
Not available
Voting from abroad
Available to all

Voters are drawn from the Electoral Register and must show an identity card to vote. Postal voting is available to citizens registered as living abroad, who may otherwise vote at diplomatic missions over several days.

How the franchise changed

Every entry records a change in who could vote, or how — expansions, restrictions and procedural reforms alike.

  1. 1918Expansion

    Universal male suffrage was introduced after the First World War and written into the 1923 constitution.

  2. 1938Expansion

    Women were granted a limited franchise, hedged by literacy and age conditions.

  3. 1946Expansion

    Full universal suffrage, including women on equal terms, was established.

  4. 1947Restriction

    Single-party rule reduced elections to a single approved list for the next four decades.

  5. 1990Expansion

    The first competitive post-communist elections were held.

  6. 2016Expansion

    Postal voting was introduced for citizens abroad, after queues at overseas polling stations in 2014 left many unable to vote.

  7. 2024Reform

    The Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the presidential election over a coordinated, undeclared online campaign; the re-run took place in 2025.

Safeguards on the count

Ballot type
Paper ballots
Post-election audit
Judicial challenge only
Election administration
Independent commission
Domestic observers
Yes
International observers
Yes

Ballots are paper and counted by hand, with electronic systems used to check voter identity against the register and prevent double voting rather than to record votes. The Constitutional Court rules on the validity of presidential elections — and in 2024 used that power to annul a round outright.

Worth knowing

  • Romania annulled the first round of its 2024 presidential election over a coordinated undeclared online campaign. The annulment rested on how the campaign was conducted, not on any finding that the count was wrong.
  • Postal voting for citizens abroad exists because of 2014: diaspora voters queued for hours at consulates and many were still waiting when polls closed.

Elections in the database

People

Sources

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