Partial results indicate that the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) has emerged victorious in Romania’s parliamentary elections. Current figures suggest that the country’s new parliament will consist of seven parties: the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), SOS Romania, the Party of Young People (POT), the PSD’s coalition partner, the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), alongside the PSD.
RMDSZ’s result is particularly noteworthy, with the party receiving 6.4 per cent of the vote, bolstered by a higher-than-average turnout among Hungarians at the polls. According to the most recent census, 6 per cent of Romanian citizens of known nationality identified as Hungarian.
The last time the RMDSZ achieved a better result was in the 2000 parliamentary elections, when the party secured 6.8 per cent of the vote. However, at that time, census data indicated that 6.6 per cent of the Romanian population identified as Hungarian.
‘The Hungarian community in Transylvania has demonstrated, at the conclusion of a very challenging campaign and with a high voter turnout, that it is strong, united, and committed to its future and that of the country for years and decades to come,’ President of the Hungarian Democratic Alliance of Romania (RMDSZ) Hunor Kelemen said in Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár) on Sunday evening.
‘Hungarian voters in Transylvania saw the danger posed by the rise of extremist parties threatening their community’
Hunor Kelemen emphasized that the most ‘mobilized’ generation on this occasion is the one that remembers the pre-1990 era and 1989, a time when they ‘knew what anti-Hungarianism was’. He noted that Hungarian voters in Transylvania ‘saw the danger’ posed by the rise of extremist parties threatening their community, which motivated their high turnout.
Kelemen also expressed gratitude to Hungarians living abroad, who, he said, participated in greater numbers than in the first round of the state elections last Sunday, taking responsibility for their homeland. He further thanked those who had not voted for years but decided to cast their ballots this time.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcomed the election results, writing on Facebook: ‘Victory! The Transylvanian Hungarians have achieved an outstanding result. Congratulations to Hunor Kelemen and the RMDSZ!’
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó also reacted to the results, highlighting that the Hungarians of Transylvania and Szeklerland have demonstrated their desire for strong Hungarian representation in Bucharest. ‘The fantastic result of the RMDSZ in the Romanian parliamentary elections ensures that Hungarians will continue to have a strong voice in the Bucharest parliament, where no decision concerning Hungarians can be made without their participation,’ he wrote in a Facebook post.
Szijjártó also underlined that the RMDSZ’s strong performance will significantly contribute to the further development of Hungarian–Romanian relations.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu recently met with PM Orbán in Budapest at the end of November, where he praised the RMDSZ for its role in strengthening relations between the two countries.
During Ciolacu’s visit, Romania, Bulgaria, and Austria reached an agreement that Austria would no longer veto Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area, paving the way for both Balkan states to become full members of the zone by 2025.
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