Luca Niculescu confirmed as Romania’s new prime minister, ending five months of political uncertainty

Independent Luca Niculescu was invested as Romania’s new prime minister on Tuesday, October 20, in a joint plenary session.

According to the official announcement, out of a total of 464 members of Parliament, 355 senators and deputies were present. A total of 338 valid votes were recorded, of which 280 were “for” and 58 were against.

As such, the Niculescu government easily passed the threshold of 233 votes needed to be invested.

“We are getting straight to work; we will hold the first government meeting this evening; Romania can no longer wait,” prime minister Luca Niculescu announced after Parliament’s vote.

The new prime minister and his ministers will next be sworn in before president Nicușor Dan, after which the new government can formally take office.

Niculescu’s 18-member cabinet replaces the Liberal-led Ilie Bolojan government, dismissed on May 5. The new government includes 11 ministers from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), many of them returning ministers, and seven independents.

Before the vote, PSD, the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), the national minorities group, and the United for Romania parliamentary group announced their support for the cabinet. Together, the parties mobilized 279 votes, comfortably above the 233 required for confirmation.