Introduction
Presidential rerun results in narrow victory for centrist candidate
Following the annulled December 2024 presidential election, Romania held a rerun on 4th and 18th May 2025. Far-right, pro-Russia candidate Cǎlin Georgescu, whose victory in the first election was annulled on suspicion of Russian interference, was barred by the election authority from standing in the rerun on the grounds that he had violated the constitutional obligation to defend democracy.
The first-round vote on 4th May resulted in a strong lead for ultranationalist George Simion (40.96%), a pro-Trump social conservative who has called for the “Melonisation” of Europe, a reference to Italy’s far-right prime minister. Finishing well behind Simion with less than half of his votes, Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan came in second place and advanced to a run-off election against Simion on 18th May.
Throughout the campaign, Simion — leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the second largest party in Parliament — positioned himself as Georgescu’s political heir, seeking to capture his disillusioned supporters by imitating his style and rhetoric. Meanwhile Dan, while backed by the Save Romania Union (USR), ran as an independent, portraying himself as an anti-system candidate and “lone wolf”, also seeking to mobilise voters distrustful of Romania’s political establishment. In the end, the run-off produced a narrow victory for Dan (53.6%) over Simion (46.4%).
With Dan’s win by such a small margin doing little to ease tensions, political polarisation in Romania remains high. Far-right rhetoric, especially from Simion and Georgescu, continues to appeal to xenophobia, nostalgia for authoritarianism, and anti-establishment sentiment. Russian interference remains a particular concern in light of the 2024 election scandal and what observers described as a “deluge of online disinformation” ahead of the May rerun. On 22nd May 2025, Simion sought to annul the rerun, but the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed his claims of foreign interference by France and Moldova.
Government resigned, new government formed led by Ilie Bolojan
As previously reported by the CIVICUS Monitor, after the parliamentary elections in December 2024, a centrist, pro-European Union government was formed under Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). However, on 5th May, following the first round of the presidential rerun in which their candidate failed to qualify for the run-off, the PSD withdrew from government and Ciolacu resigned, citing a lack of legitimacy.
On 20th June 2025, President Nicușor Dan officially nominated the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL) chairman Ilie Bolojan to lead a broad pro-European coalition including PSD, PNL, USR, USR’s splinter party Renewing Romania's European Project (REPER) and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR). “It is in Romania’s interest that the government be supported by a solid majority”, Dan said, adding: “The urgency for Romania is economic recovery, but to have an economic recovery, you need a solid foundation. And for that, we have to work, and the responsibility lies with the government and the coalition that will support it.”
Bolojan warned that “some decisions will not be popular, but they are necessary”, announcing the need for measures such as tax increases, which he argues are required in order to close the nearly 9.3% GDP deficit and prevent further debt accumulation. Bolojan’s coalition secured formal approval in Parliament on 23rd June 2025 and his government was sworn in later that day.
On 7th July 2025, after tax increases introduced in the first week of July, George Simion’s AUR party initiated a no-confidence motion against Bolojan’s coalition, accusing the cabinet of imposing austerity and serving a “corrupt system.” The party declared it would “fight with all parliamentary and civic means” to protect Romanians. The government survived the no-confidence vote on 14th July, but another AUR-led motion is scheduled for debate on 12th August. While there are no clear signs of coalition lawmakers breaking ranks, behind-the-scenes negotiations reportedly continue.
Ion Iliescu, Romania’s first post-communist president, dies at 95
On 5th August 2025, Ion Iliescu, Romania’s first post-communist president, died aged 95. A former high-ranking communist educated in Moscow, Iliescu led the National Salvation Front during the 1989 Revolution and became interim head of state after Ceaușescu’s fall. Elected president in 1990, 1992, and 2000, he oversaw Romania’s NATO and EU accession processes.
Iliescu’s legacy is marred by the persistent controversy over the 1989 revolution, as well as his role in the violent Mineriada (Miners’ Riots) of June 1990, in which thousands of miners were brought to Bucharest on his orders to crush anti-government protests, resulting in several deaths and thousands of injuries. As the CIVICUS Monitor previously reported, in recent years he was charged with crimes against humanity in connection with his role in the 1990 events, but the proceedings remained unresolved. His funeral on 7th August 2025 was declared a day of national mourning.
Freedom of Association
State-owned company targets Greenpeace Romania with SLAPP lawsuit
In early May 2025, Romania’s state-owned natural gas producer Romgaz initiated legal proceedings against Greenpeace Romania. The filings seek to dissolve the organisation, citing “insolvency and alleged misuse of the organisation’s structure to avoid financial accountability,” according to Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja. The challenge follows Greenpeace Romania’s attempt to block work on the Neptun Deep gas project, a joint development by Romgaz and Austria’s OMV Petrom located in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea.
Greenpeace had previously challenged the Neptun Deep project in court, but their claims were dismissed in a civil judgment earlier this year, with Greenpeace being ordered to pay RON 380,000 (around EUR 75,000) in legal costs.
Greenpeace Romania spokesperson Mihnea Matache described the lawsuit — publicly supported by a government official — as “a strategic attempt to silence opposition.”
As reported in a previous CIVICUS Monitor update, there has been a worrying trend of environmental NGOs being targeted by real estate developers through Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) cases seeking their closure. In 2022, two NGOs were dissolved after losing court cases in which they had contested real estate projects. As they could not afford to pay the legal fees awarded to the developers, the investors requested and obtained their liquidation. The first case was against the NGO Miliția Spirituală, while the second concerned the NGO SOS Orașul.
Court dissolves coalition founded by Georgescu
On 6th June 2025, a Romanian court officially dissolved the Pământul Strămoșesc (Ancestral Land) Association, founded by former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu. The court ruled that the association promoted extremist ideologies linked to the Russia-friendly positions advocated by Georgescu. The move is part of the growing crackdown on far-right political activism following Georgescu’s turbulent 2024–25 campaign and subsequent judicial scrutiny of his group’s networks and financial backing.
The association responded that, while it may be closed, the spirit behind it “may sprout under other names, perhaps in other places” in order to protect Romania’s “national soul.”
Freedom of Assembly
Political protests and rallies
On 26th March 2025, his birthday, thousands of Romanians gathered in Bucharest to protest against the annulment of Cǎlin Georgescu’s December presidential election victory and his subsequent ban from rerunning. Two separate demonstrations took place. The first, in front of Parliament, drew over a thousand people who sang “Happy Birthday” to Georgescu and left gifts for him. The second was an officially notified rally organised by George Simion and the far-right AUR party, where demonstrators marched from the headquarters of the election authority to the seat of government, demanding, in their words, that “democracy be re-established.”
While media reports estimated that the AUR rally also attracted around a thousand participants, a number of those who had joined the first protest reportedly refused to take part in the second. According to Digi24, citing the Bucharest Gendarmerie, the first protest in front of Parliament led to a report being filed with criminal investigators and six misdemeanor citations being issued under the law prohibiting the use of fascist, legionary, racist and xenophobic symbols. No incidents were reported at the second protest.
On 9th May 2025, between the first round of the rerun on 4th May and the run-off on 18th May, thousands from the opposite side of the political spectrum gathered in Bucharest to rally in support of the European Union. Participants waved EU and Romanian flags and chanted: “Russia, don’t forget Romania is not yours” and “We want our country forward, not backward.”
Women protest against patriarchal culture and gender-based violence
On 4th June 2025, thousands protested in Bucharest following the murder of 23-year-old pregnant woman Teodora Marcu by her ex-partner. Demonstrators called for urgent legislative reforms to address gender-based violence, citing data showing that at least 25 women had been killed in Romania in 2025 alone. Protesters carried banners against gender-based violence and laid flowers in memory of Marcu and her unborn child.
On 18th June 2025, several hundred people gathered in Victory Square to protest the rise of violence against women, triggered by a second tragic femicide case following the murder of Marcu. They demanded stronger action from authorities to end gender-based violence. President Nicușor Dan issued a statement expressing solidarity with protesters and pledging to work with the future government on a package of concrete measures to ensure real protection for victims and better prevention.
The demonstrations were further fuelled by recent statistical data. On 16th June 2025, Eurostat figures analysed by the Monitorul Social (Social Monitor) project revealed that Romania ranks among EU countries with the highest levels of intimate partner violence. Nearly one in two Romanian women who have ever had a partner reported experiencing severe forms of violence (psychological, physical, or sexual), compared to one in three across the EU.
Pride demonstrations and counter-protests
Tens of thousands marched in Bucharest’s Pride parade on 5th June 2025, demanding legislation to introduce civil partnerships for same-sex couples and equal rights. Demonstrators also called for simpler legal gender recognition procedures and stronger protections against hate speech and hate crimes. Victor Ciobotaru, executive director of LGBTQI+ rights group ACCEPT Association, reported “a huge increase” in hate crimes against the community during the 2024–2025 election cycle.
Hours before the march began, a smaller anti-Pride protest took place, with participants calling for an orthodox Christian nation and waving flags with the Celtic cross, a well-known far-right symbol.
Romania has yet to comply with a 2023 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights requiring recognition of same-sex relationships. In its latest Rainbow Map, published in May 2025, watchdog group ILGA-Europe announced that the country had overtaken Poland as the worst in the EU for LGBTQI+ rights.
Georgescu supporters clash with gendarmes
On 21st July 2025, hundreds gathered in Victory Square, Bucharest, to demonstrate in support of Cǎlin Georgescu. Multiple clashes with the gendarmerie and police left four officers injured. According to the gendarmerie, police identified and attempted to detain a suspect accused of violent acts, who resisted arrest but was eventually taken into custody. Three others were also detained.
Anamaria Gavrilă, MP and leader of the far-right POT party, also participated in the protest and shared images and messages criticising the authorities. She accused the “paid media” of discrediting public movements.
Freedom of Expression
Death threats against PressOne journalists
On 30th April 2025, journalists from PressOne, a Romanian investigative news outlet, received death threats online after publishing a series of investigations about a neo-Nazi group active in Romania and Moldova. The journalists filed a police complaint, and authorities opened an investigation. PressOne’s reporting documented the activities of Unit 731, a neo-Nazi-inspired network that operates on Telegram and recruits young people, including minors, from Romania and Moldova. Young recruits are encouraged by Unit 731 to vandalise Jewish monuments, attack people considered “enemies” and engage in drug trafficking “for the cause.” According to the investigation, Vlad Petre, a former member of the youth wing of the right-wing populist party AUR, attempted to recruit members into the group.
Concerns about censoring political speech
In the run-up to the presidential elections in May 2025, the Romanian authorities introduced “draconian” online content laws to curb the spread of Russian disinformation in support of far-right candidates, according to critics. Human rights activists have raised the alarm that these far-reaching measures severely restrict freedom of expression on the internet.
Under emergency regulations introduced in January 2025, social media users, including voters and not just candidates and political influencers, were labelled as “political actors” if they mostly posted political content. The Central Electoral Bureau defined as political advertising any content that “directly or indirectly urges voters to choose or not to choose, to vote or not to vote” for a candidate. Critics considered the rules overly broad and punitive.
By 4th April 2025, more than 4,000 content-removal orders had been issued, mostly targeting TikTok. Ahead of the rerun, the Central Electoral Bureau required that all political content be clearly labelled and only published within the official campaign period. It also ordered that messages deemed political advertising must include two codes: one identifying the candidate supported and another indicating whether it was sponsored. Cristian Pantazi, editor of G4Media, called the ordinance “disproportionate and dangerous for democracy.” Much of the removed content supported George Simion and Călin Georgescu, though some came from local politicians and ordinary voters.
Far-right politician calls journalists “endangered species”
In early May 2025, MP and President of the Party of Young People (POT) Anamaria Gavrilă sparked outrage after telling journalists in Parliament that they were “an endangered species” and that she “can’t wait to see [them] gone.” Reporters had questioned her about allegations from fellow POT MP Dorin Popa, who resigned from the party and its parliamentary group earlier that day. Popa claimed Gavrilă had sent him a threatening message while Gavrilă denied the allegation, insisting the message “does not exist.”
Simion targets critical outlets, HotNews receives threats
On 11th May 2025, George Simion, presidential candidate of the far-right AUR party, targeted several Romanian news outlets, accusing them of bias and spreading false information, naming independent outlets G4Media and HotNews.
The next day, Simion published on Facebook a secretly recorded conversation with Digi24 journalists, intended to discredit and humiliate them. The journalists, who had arrived at his Senate office expecting to meet campaign staff, instead encountered Simion himself. He confronted them aggressively, accusing Digi24 of bias based on opinions expressed by its staff. He told them they “should be ashamed” and called them “media assassins.”
On 13th May 2025, the editorial team of HotNews received a threatening message through the website’s comment section. The message, sent after Simion had publicly targeted the outlet, and submitted multiple times, stated: “Let it be your turn. There are enough of us who will pay you a visit starting next week”, along with vulgar insults.
Police execute search warrant against photojournalist Andrei Pungovschi
On 14th May 2025, police executed a search warrant against photojournalist Andrei Pungovschi, seeking images linked to an investigation into “prohibited organisations, symbols and acts of fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic nature.” Authorities reportedly demanded access to his coverage of a protest, raising concerns about press freedom and the protection of journalistic sources. Romanian civil society organisations and media outlets denounced the incident, stressing that “the protection of journalists’ sources is not only the responsibility of journalists, but also of the authorities, and searches should only take place if they are the only way to obtain information. In such cases, they must be carried out under conditions that protect confidentiality.”
Georgescu to face trial over national security allegations
On 2nd July 2025, the General Prosecutor’s Office announced that Călin Georgescu, under judicial supervision since 26th February 2025, had been sent to trial for promoting “the cult of war criminals and spreading fascist, legionary, racist, and xenophobic ideas.”
Prosecutors allege that between 16th June 2020 and 16th May 2025, Georgescu repeatedly glorified fascist and legionary ideologies and figures, including Marshal Ion Antonescu, convicted of war crimes, and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, founder of the fascist Iron Guard. The trial will also examine his efforts to normalise the historical image of the Legionary Movement and its leaders, as well as his calls for national regeneration inspired by mystical Orthodox Christianity.
The case has been sent to the Bucharest District 1 Court. Georgescu remains under investigation for additional crimes, “the most serious being attempted incitement to acts against constitutional order.”
World Press Freedom Index reports that Romania has fallen to 55th place
In the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published in May by Reporters Without Borders, Romania dropped from 49th to 55th place. The report highlighted concerns over a lack of transparency, particularly regarding political funding, as well as market challenges undermining public trust and reliability.
Helsinki Committee calls to reconsider law banning extremist symbols
On 18th July 2025, Romania’s Helsinki Committee urged President Nicușor Dan to return a recently approved law banning fascist, legionary, racist, and xenophobic symbols to Parliament for re-examination, citing “serious problems of clarity and predictability.”
The rights group — formally the Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania – Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH) — stressed that while combating extremist ideologies is essential, the legislation’s vague definitions risk abuse, including the criminalisation of political criticism.
The appeal followed the Constitutional Court’s rejection of a presidential challenge to the bill. While acknowledging the law replaces legal definitions with “historical and political concepts”, the Court upheld it. President Dan later announced he would return the law to Parliament once the Court publishes its reasoning.
The bill amends Emergency Ordinance 31/2002 and Law 157/2018, expanding bans on organisations, symbols, and acts promoting individuals convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Watchdog warns of potential misuse of measures to combat disinformation
On 13th June 2025, APADOR-CH sent an official inquiry to the President and to the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) regarding planned measures to combat disinformation. Sent following the President’s announcement that the issue of disinformation will be discussed by the Supreme Council, the request for clarification cautioned that, “in the absence of clear legal definitions and transparent procedures, measures to combat disinformation could become pretexts for restricting freedom of expression and censoring critical opinions.”
APADOR-CH asked CSAT and the President to respond to five key questions concerning the protocol used to determine disinformation and urged the President to convene wider discussions on combating disinformation in a more transparent framework than CSAT.