Diaspora, massive vote also in the parliamentary elections

Romanian citizens in the diaspora with the right to vote also mobilized in the parliamentary elections, for which they could express their option on two days: Saturday, November 30, and Sunday, December 1. By last night at 8 p.m., over 700,000 Romanian citizens with the right to vote who have their domicile or residence abroad had expressed their option to vote. This mobilization is considerably higher compared to the 2020 parliamentary elections, if we take into account that four years ago, the turnout in the parliamentary elections in the diaspora was extremely low, half the number of voters registered until last night at 8 p.m. The highest turnouts were recorded yesterday in Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.

To meet the needs of the diaspora, 950 polling stations were organized in various countries, including the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where 106 polling stations were opened in localities with significant Romanian communities. Voting was possible both through physical presence at polling stations and by correspondence, for those who had previously registered on the Permanent Electoral Authority platform. This option was available to Romanians abroad who wanted to vote in the 2024 presidential and/or parliamentary elections.

The first polling stations opened were those in New Zealand and Australia, and the last stations are those on the west coast of the USA and Canada, where voting ended this morning at 7 a.m. Romanian time.

Regarding the documents required for voting, Romanian citizens in the diaspora were able to vote with valid identity documents, such as an identity card, a simple passport, a simple electronic passport or a temporary simple passport, accompanied by proof of residence abroad or a document attesting that they have the right to stay for more than 90 days.

We note that, in some cases, the lists of candidates for the diaspora have undergone changes. For example, the Central Electoral Bureau rejected the list of proposals for the diaspora for the Chamber of Deputies of the National Liberal Party (PNL). Some liberal voters did not know this and thought it was an error or misprinted ballots. In reality, the PNL was unable to submit lists of candidates for the Diaspora because it did not comply with the legal requirement regarding the percentage of female candidates that must be on the respective lists.

The significant participation of Romanians in the diaspora in these elections reflects their desire to actively contribute to the political future of Romania, demonstrating an increased civic involvement compared to previous elections.

The final results of the diaspora vote are to be centralized and announced by the competent electoral authorities in the coming period.