Romanian voters will head again to the polls this Sunday, May 4, to choose their next president. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP), nearly 18 million citizens are registered to vote in the upcoming election.

Of the 17,988,031 eligible voters listed in the permanent electoral rolls, over 1 million are Romanians living abroad. A total of 6,085 voters from the diaspora have registered to vote by mail, while 2,235 have signed up to vote in person at polling stations.

A total of 20,314 citizens currently do not have the right to vote, due to legal restrictions.

For Romanians living abroad, voting began early, with the first ballot already cast at the polling station in Auckland, New Zealand. Voting outside Romania will take place over three days to allow more citizens to participate. 

To accommodate the large diaspora, the AEP has opened 965 polling stations abroad - 15 more than in the 2024 elections.

In last year’s first round of presidential elections - which was later annulled by the Constitutional Court - over 821,000 Romanians abroad voted. Călin Georgescu led the race with 43.16%, followed by Elena Lasconi (26.95%) and George Simion (12.03%), according to News.ro.

The AEP also announced that it accredited 299 observers and journalists to monitor the election process, including 159 international observers and 87 foreign journalists. Romanian media representatives are also allowed to attend the vote-counting process with proper ID and press credentials.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Bogdan Buda)