Repeat Presidential Election, 4 May 2025

Following an invitation from the authorities of Romania to observe the 4 May presidential election and potential 18 May second round, and in consideration of the findings and recommendations of a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) deployed from 15 to 19 April 2024, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a visit to Bucharest from 3 to 5 March 2025. The ODIHR delegation included Keara Castaldo, ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, and Martina Barker-Ciganikova, ODIHR Election Adviser. The purpose of the visit was to update ODIHR’s assessment of the pre-election environment and preparations for the forthcoming election, including in consideration of developments following the 1 December 2024 parliamentary elections and annulled 24 November presidential election. Based on this assessment, ODIHR seeks to supplement the NAM report with additional findings and to confirm the most appropriate format for a potential election observation activity.

Meetings were held with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Electoral Authority as well as with representatives of political parties and civil society organizations. A list of meetings is annexed to this report. ODIHR would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its assistance in organizing the visit, as well as all of its interlocutors for sharing their views.