As of 6:00 PM, voter turnout in Romania’s parliamentary elections has surpassed that of all elections since 2008.
According to Digi24, citing data from the Central Electoral Commission, 8.2 million citizens voted domestically, with over 607,000 votes cast by the diaspora, amounting to a turnout of 46.09%. For comparison, turnout in the 2008 parliamentary elections stood at 41.8%, while the 2020 elections saw a record low of 33.3%. However, this figure remains lower than the 52.56% turnout recorded during the first round of the presidential election held a week earlier.
The parliamentary elections are taking place between two rounds of the presidential race. A total of 39 parties and 19 minority organizations are competing for seats in parliament. Voting began at 7:00 AM and will conclude at 9:00 PM local time. To enter parliament, parties must secure at least 5% of the national vote. Coalitions face higher thresholds: 8% for two-party alliances, 9% for three-party alliances, and 10% for alliances of four or more parties.
Meanwhile, public attention is also focused on the presidential election. In the first round, the right-wing candidate Călin Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner, while Elena Lasconi, a representative of the center-right AUR party, secured second place.
