Pro-European parties in Romania have agreed to form a governing majority and potentially endorse a single candidate in new presidential elections set to take place after the first round’s results were annulled last week.

The leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) won the most seats in parliamentary elections held on 1 December, but several far-right nationalist parties also saw gains, now making up over 30% of the parliament.

The new coalition, which brings together the PSD, the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL), centrist Save Romania Union (USR), and the centre-right Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), effectively overwhelms the far right’s advance.

The four parties have previously clashed on policy issues, but are putting on a united front after agreeing on a deal releasing a statement, which declared: “Pro-European parties aim to build trust in institutions and the political class through good governance, transparency in public spending and respect for citizens.”

Leader of the USR party, Elena Lasconi, said that Romania was going through a “difficult period” after the agreement was reached, adding that cutting state spending and reducing bureaucracy would be priorities for the new government.

Romania’s budget deficit hit 8% this year, the highest figure in the EU.

Ready for a rerun

The new government coalition also agreed to come up with a new, pro-European presidential candidate to fight the upcoming election — a rerun after the first round’s result was annulled a week ago over concerns about Russian meddling.

Romania has yet to set a calendar for the new elections, but they are expected to take place in the first half of 2025.

Far-right nationalist Călin Georgescu emerged victorious in the election’s first round. His victory was immediately met with shock and scepticism when he topped the polls despite predictions showing he only had around 5% of support before the vote took place.

The election’s result was annulled ahead of the second round after bombshell documents released by Romanian intelligence services showed a “state actor” — presumed to be Russia — artificially propped up Georgescu’s victory with a campaign on the video-sharing app TikTok.

Georgescu’s popularity on the app exploded in the days leading up to the vote, with the candidate gaining tens of millions of views.

It is so far unclear whether Georgescu will be allowed to run again, with prosecutors investigating whether he lied about his campaign funding.

Video editor • Jerry Fisayo-Bambi