Presidential Elections 2025. Who are the 11 candidates in the race for the Cotroceni Palace

Cristian Hatis
Sun, 23 Mar 2025 10:36:12 +0000
News, Election, elections, politics, presidency

The first round of voting is set for May 4, 2025, with a potential runoff on May 18 if no candidate secures an absolute majority

The post Presidential Elections 2025. Who are the 11 candidates in the race for the Cotroceni Palace appeared first on Bucharest Daily News.

After the December 2024 presidential elections were canceled, Romanians are called to the polls on May 4th and May 18, 2025 to elect their president. They can choose from eleven candidates, including four independents. For the first time after 1989, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) does not have its own candidate.

The presidential elections feature a list of 11 candidates approved by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) and validated by the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR). On March 23, 2025, the BEC also established the order of candidates on the ballots.

1. George Simion – Leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a prominent nationalist figure, declared persona non grata in Moldova and Ukraine.

2. Crin Antonescu – Former leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), proposed as the single candidate of the pro-European Romania Forward Electoral Alliance, which includes PSD, PNL, and UDMR.

3. Elena Lasconi – Representing the center-right Save Romania Union (USR), she previously advanced to the runoff in the annulled 2024 election, after collecting over 2 million votes in the first round.

4. Cristian Terheș – A candidate from the far-right Romanian National Conservative Party (PNCR).

5. Lavinia Șandru – Independent candidate.

6. Victor Ponta – Former Prime Minister and leader of the PRO Romania party.

7. Sebastian Popescu – Independent candidate

8. Silviu Predoiu – Former head of the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), running as an independent.

9. John Ion Banu Muscel – A former graduate of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest who emigrated to the USA in 1985.

10. Daniel Funeriu – Former Education Minister, possibly running as an independent or with a smaller party.

11. Nicușor Dan – Current Mayor of Bucharest, in a second term, running as an independent candidate.

Notably, Călin Georgescu, who led the annulled 2024 election’s first round, was barred from running in this rerun due to allegations of Russian interference and subsequent legal challenges, including charges of incitement and support for fascist groups.

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