AUR remains in first place in voting intentions for the parliamentary elections, but PSD narrows the gap to nine percentage points, according to a new Avangarde poll. The research also shows what expectations Romanians have from the Niculescu Government: raising salaries and pensions is at the top of the priorities, but when it comes to reducing the budget deficit, almost six out of ten respondents prefer cutting state expenditures.
The research shows, according to HotNews, that AUR is credited with 35% of the votes, compared to 36% in September, while PSD reaches 26%, an increase of three percentage points.
PNL occupies third place, with 15%, followed by USR, with 10%, and UDMR, with 5%.
Below the electoral threshold of 5% are SENS, with 4%, and SOS Romania, with 2%. Other parties together account for 3% of voting intentions.
35% of adults do not indicate a party they would vote for
The poll also shows that a significant part of the adult population does not express an electoral preference. Thus, 16% of respondents are undecided or do not know who they would vote for, 17% say they would not go to vote, and 2% do not answer.
The percentages attributed to the parties are calculated exclusively from those who expressed a voting option, not from the total adult population.
How the percentages changed in one month
Compared to the Avangarde poll from September, PSD records the largest increase, of three percentage points, from 23% to 26%.
USR rises from 8% to 10%, while AUR loses one percentage point, from 36% to 35%, and PNL drops from 16% to 15%. UDMR remains at 5%.
Thus, the distance between AUR and PSD decreases from 13 to 9 percentage points. Variations should, however, be interpreted taking into account the margin of error of the polls.
What expectations Romanians have from the new government
Increasing salaries and pensions is the main priority indicated by 30% of respondents for the Niculescu Government, according to data published by Digi24.
Fighting corruption is mentioned by 21% of those surveyed, and reducing the budget deficit and public debt, by 19%.
Another 15% consider that the priority should be reducing state and public institution expenditures, 7% indicate investments in infrastructure, including highways, hospitals, and schools, and 4% the financing of the health system.
Almost six out of ten Romanians want a reduction in state expenditures
When asked how the budget deficit should be reduced, 59% of respondents chose reducing state expenditures.
In second place, at a large distance, is the introduction of higher taxes on wealth and companies, supported by 20% of participants.
Only 4% believe the Government should borrow more, without other measures, and 3% think that reducing the deficit should not be a priority at this time.
Increasing taxes and levies is indicated by 2% of respondents, and freezing salaries and pensions by only 1%. Another 11% did not provide an answer.
What Romanians think about the support for the Niculescu Government
The poll also measured public perception regarding the PNL decision to vote for the investiture of the Niculescu Government, even though the liberals announced they remain in opposition.
Half of the respondents (50%) consider this decision rather wrong, while 29% view it as rather good. The remaining 21% did not answer or had no opinion.
Regarding the direction in which Romania is heading, 78% of poll participants believe the country is going in the wrong direction. Only 16% think the direction is good, and 6% do not know or do not answer.
How the poll was conducted
The Avangarde poll was conducted between October 21–26, 2026, through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI), on a sample of 1,000 people aged over 18.
The declared maximum margin of error is ±3.1%, at a 95% confidence level.