Romania’s 2024 elections: List of potential presidential candidates expanding

While the full official results of the June 9 local and EU Parliament elections are not in yet, the list of those formally announcing the intent to run for president or considering it is expanding.

Organized every five years, the presidential elections are usually held in December, but this year, the governing coalition made up of the Social Democrat Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) announced the decision to hold them in September. Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, also the president of PSD, has insisted on numerous occasions that the presidential elections would be held in early autumn (September 15 – the first round, September 29 – the second), more recently this past weekend, when he said the party he leads would hold a congress to elect the presidential candidate in early July. He also said he would not run for president in December.

When asked if PSD has other options for a presidential candidate – the party president is usually the presidential candidate – he said “there are always options; the important things is that my colleagues and I make the right decision,” Digi24 reported.

He also insisted that PSD needs to have its own candidate for the presidential elections, something the PNL leader Nicolae Ciucă agreed on. “At this point, both parties need to have their own candidate because we are talking about the most representative state position, we are talking about the person receiving the highest vote of confidence from the Romanian citizens, and, as much as we would like to talk about this coalition and the benefits of stable government, there are hardcore voters on both side, who would certainly not vote for a common candidate,” Ciucă said, as reported by Digi24.

Ciucă, who over the past weeks has been building the profile of the party’s pick for the presidency, explained that PNL would hold a national council after the local elections, where the party would not only analyze the results but also establish the next steps and a strategy for the upcoming elections.

One name that frequently popped up on the list of potential presidential candidates is that of Mircea Geoană, who currently serves as NATO deputy secretary general. Geoană, who was the president of PSD from April 2005 to February 2010, has been