List of political parties in Romania

Legal framework

Article 40 of the Constitution of Romania states that citizens can freely associate into political parties, with the exception of judges, military, and police personnel as well as other civil servants which are apolitical by law. The same article bans political parties which campaign against political pluralism, the rule of law, and Romania's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Romania's party system is regulated by Law no. 14/2003 on political parties; the law initially mandated a list of 25,000 supporters, residing in at least 18 counties and the Municipality of Bucharest, for a political party to be formally registered.

Nevertheless, in February 2015, the unregistered Pirate Party of Romania () filed a complaint to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the list requirement is a violation of the constitutional provisions on freedom of association. The Court subsequently struck down the requirement as unconstitutional, and on 6 May 2015, the Romanian Parliament approved a modified version of the law, which allows the formation of a political party with 3 signatures.

Parties represented in Parliament

The current political parties with parliamentary representation, in the order of the total number of representatives they hold in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, are the following ones:

In addition, ethnic minority organizations are granted each seat in the Chamber of Deputies if: (1) are the sole official representative organization of the minority; (2) they participate in the legislative election and do not pass the 5% threshold but obtain at least 10% of the number of votes calculated to correspond to electing one deputy. These seats are added to the number of seats put up for election. As of 2021, there are eighteen such seats. The Hungarian minority organization, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) has always passed the 5% threshold for both houses of the Romanian Parliament, and has been treated as a regular political party (and acting like one as well).

Parties only represented in the European Parliament

Aside from the political parties represented in the Romanian Parliament, the following political parties only have representation in the European Parliament:

Minor parties

Ethnic minority organizations

Other parties

Defunct parties

Parties active 1859–1918

Parties active 1918−1947

The following parties were all active in Romania in the interwar period and, in some cases, through and after World War II. Dates of founding and dissolution are given, where known. Failing that, the earliest and latest dates known for activities are given.

This period saw the proliferation of numerous extremist parties inspired by fascism, socialism and Communism. The latter were effectively banned in 1924 by the so-called Mârzescu law. A succession of coups drastically altered the political landscape as Romania went through a single-party dictatorship under the National Renaissance Front (1938–1940), then a military dictatorship without political parties (1940–1944), then briefly returning to multiparty democracy before finally becoming a people's republic (1944–1947).

Communist-era parties (1947–1989)

Although distinct parties in the communist era were not politically relevant, the following were the officially recognized political forces:

Other parties were allowed to exist, with unclear status, until mid 1948.

Post−1989 parties

Notes

References

• 110 ani de social-democrație în România ("110 Years of Social Democracy in Romania"), Social Democratic Party, Ovidiu Șincai Social Democratic Institute, Bucharest, July 9, 2003
• Ion Constantinescu, "Dr. N. Lupu: «Dacă și d-ta ai fi fost bătut...»" ("Dr. N. Lupu: «If You Yourself Had Been Beaten...»"), in Magazin Istoric, August 1971
• Victor Frunză, Istoria stalinismului în România ("History of Stalinism in Romania"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1990
• Victoria Gabriela Gruber, Summary of Partidul Național Liberal (Gheorghe Brătianu) (PDF file)
• Gabriel Marin, "Între culpabilitate și mit: George Călinescu - Un istoric literar român în timpul regimului comunist" ("In Between Guilt and Myth: George Călinescu - A Romanian Literary Historian during the Communist Regime"), in Erasmus, 1997
• Paula Mihailov, "Dubla criză a 'României profunde'" ("The Double Crisis of 'Profound Romania'"), in Jurnalul Național, July 12, 2005
• Vasile Niculae, Ion Ilincioiu, Stelian Neagoe, Doctrina țărănistă în România. Antologie de texte ("Peasant Doctrine in Romania. Collected Texts"), Editura Noua Alternativă, Social Theory Institute of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 1994
• Z. Ornea, Introduction and chronological table to George Panu, Amintiri de la "Junimea" din Iași ("Recollections from the Iași Junimea"), Ed. Minerva, Bucharest, 1998
• Petre Otu, "1946-1947. Se pregătește guvernul Argetoianu!" ("1946-1948. An Argetoianu Government Is Under Preparation!"), in Magazin Istoric, May 2000
• Ioan Scurtu, Viața Politică din România 1918–1914 ("Political Life in Romania 1918–1914"), Editura Albatros, Bucharest, 1982
• M. Ștefan, "În umbra Cortinei de Fier" ("In the Shadow of the Iron Curtain"), in Magazin Istoric, November 1995
• Francisco Veiga, Istoria Gărzii de Fier, 1919-1941: Mistica ultranaționalismului ("History of the Iron Guard, 1919-1941: The Mystique of Ultra-Nationalism"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1993
• Nicolae Videnie, "«Alegerile» din martie 1948: epilogul listelor electorale alternative. Obsesia unanimității — primii pași" ("The «Elections» of March 1948: an Epilogue to Alternative Electoral Lists. Unanimity Obsession — The First Steps Taken"), in Dosarele Istoriei, 11/V, 2000

References

1. "The Ideological Institutionalization of the Romanian Party System".
2. "The Extreme Right in Contemporary Romania".
3. "Crește încrederea în Președinție și Armata, scade în Biserica și presa - sondaj INSCOP".
4. "PSD și PNL se întrec în demonstrații de reformă internă, să-i excludă pe membrii corupți".
5. (17 March 2015). "Modificare statut PSD: Membrii condamnați în primă instanță pentru corupție, suspendați din partid".
6. (22 May 2015). "PNL a definitivat modificările la Statut, în privința criteriilor de integritate".
7. "ARTICLE 40".
8. "Partidul Pirat din România schimbă legea partidelor politice la CCR: nu mai e nevoie de minimum 25.000 de membri fondatori".
9. (6 May 2015). "Camera Deputaților a adoptat trei legi electorale: legea finanțarii partidelor reexaminata, legea partidelor politice și legea alegerilor locale".
10. As [[National Salvation Front (Romania). National Salvation Front]] (FSN)
11. As Social Democratic Party (PSD)
12. Ziarul Financiar. (6 December 2020). "Cine este AUR, partidul venit de nicăieri care ar putea intra în Parlament. Ce spunea George Simion, fondatorul partidului, în urmă cu câteva zile: Noi suntem legaţi de micul producător, de ţăranul român. Prima lege pe care am da-o ar fi protejarea capitalului român pentru agricultori". Ziarul Financiar.
13. As the historical [[National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875). National Liberal Party]] (PNL)
14. Re-founded in the wake of the [[Romanian Revolution. 1989 Romanian Revolution]]
15. Tomasz Dąborowski. (1 November 2017). "Prospects for the centre-left government in Romania". Centre for Eastern Studies.
16. Ornea
17. Niculae, et al., p. 39
18. (10 March 2016). "Mârzescu Law".
19. Veiga, p.215
20. Niculae et al., p.12
21. [http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/revhist/backiss/vol3/no1/barta.html "How the Bolshevik-Leninist Group of Romania was Founded"] (with introduction), at the [[Marxists Internet Archive]]; retrieved 19 July 2007
22. Gruber, Cap. V
23. Niculae et al., p.15
24. Veiga, p.228-230
25. Niculae et al., p.14
26. Frunză, p.299; Niculae et al., p.16, 45; Videnie, p.46
27. [http://www.divers.ro/files/germanii.html "Germanii", on Divers.ro] {{webarchive. link. (2007-01-28)
28. Frunză, p.282
29. [http://www.divers.ro/files/evreii.html "Evreii", on Divers.ro] {{webarchive. link. (2006-08-04)
30. Niculae et al., p.9
31. Mihailov
32. [http://www.tnlgorj.ro/ist_pnl2.php Tineretul Liberal Gorj] {{webarchive. link. (2007-09-26 ; [http://unibuc.ro/eBooks/istorie/ideologie/18.htm Marian Ștefănescu, ''Jean Th. Florescu și misiunea sa la Madrid''] {{webarchive). link. (2007-01-02)
33. [http://www.divers.ro/files/maghiarii.html "Maghiarii", on Divers.ro] {{webarchive. link. (2006-01-08)
34. Otu
35. Veiga, p.215, 224
36. Veiga, p.214
37. Veiga, p.163
38. Frunză, p.118-119, 299; Niculae et al., p.16; Videnie, p.46
39. Veiga, p.179
40. Veiga, p.133, 163, 254, 255
41. Niculae et al., p.14, 15
42. Niculae et al., p.14-15
43. Niculae et al., p.15; Veiga, p.215
44. ''110 ani de social-democrație'', p. 6, 24
45. Frunză, p.116, 125, 187
46. {{lang. ro. Frunză, p.117; Marin, "II. Viața și opera lui G. Călinescu sub comunism"
47. ''110 ani de social-democrație'', p.5, 21; Frunză, p.203-204, 214
48. Ștefan
49. Frunză, p.357
50. (23 May 2024). "NR. CRT. 214".