15 electoral parties and alliances, as well as seven independents, have registered their candidacies for the European parliamentary elections at the Romanian Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) within the legal deadline.
EFOR analyzed the available data on the BEC website and highlighted some characteristics of the proposed lists.
We extracted some conclusions from the press release sent to spotmedia.ro
Number of Candidates
- Political parties and electoral alliances have proposed 542 candidates, compared to 695 in 2019 and 580 in 2014 (including independents).
- The number of independents was similar, with the mention that in 2014, one additional independent candidate applied.
- In 2024, nine parties/alliances submitted the maximum number of candidates, namely 43. At the other end, the Free People's Party has one candidate.
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Gender Representation of Candidates
- For the June elections, political parties and electoral alliances presented 171 female candidates (32%) and 364 male candidates (68%). In 2019, 31% of the candidates were women, so there is no increase in 2024. Currently, 5 out of 33 MEPs are women (15%).
- In addition, six out of seven independent candidates are male.
- The highest number of female candidates are found on the lists of opposition parties REPER, AUR, and SOS Romania (39%), followed by the government coalition PSD+PNL (37%). The United Right Alliance (main opposition alliance) registered 35% female candidates. At UDMR (the hungarian minority party), the percentage of female candidates is 30%, and at PUSL it is 23%.
- At the party level, USR (12 F/11 M) and PSD (12 F/11 M) have the most balanced gender representation. Only a quarter of the liberal candidates are women – 5 out of 20. At UDMR, 13 out of 43 candidates are women.
- Data analysis shows that 10 out of 15 parties/alliances have included a woman in the top three positions. In the United Right Alliance, the first woman on the list is in fifth place (Cristina – Mădălina Prună), while in the PSD+PNL Alliance, she is in third place (Gabriela Firea). In AUR, the highest-ranked woman is in fourth place – Teodorescu Maria – Georgiana.
- Three parties have proposed women in the first position: SOS Romania, PAD, and ARS. PSD-PNL publicly stated that they would place a woman first, but the list is led by MEP Mihai Tudose.
- REPER is the only party that used a zipper list (based on gender), alternating male and female candidates (at least in the first half of the list).
Occupation of Candidates
- The most common occupations are: retiree (54), director/manager/administrator, deputy (23), entrepreneur, lawyer, MEP (20).
- In the case of PSD+PNL, a quarter of the candidates are already MEPs (12), 5 are directors, 5 are deputies, three are state secretaries, and 2 each are senators, vice-presidents of county councils, managers, or professors. These data indicate that the PSD+PNL lists are based on candidates who are already in political positions in the administration.
- In ADU, 7 are deputies, and 2 are MEPs. Six candidates fall into the director category, and 3 into the manager category. There is also a mayor, a vice-mayor, and a senator running for candidacy.
- AUR has included five university professors and 3 lecturers, five deputies, five lawyers, and four directors from the public or private sector on the list. An MEP, a senator, and three parliamentary advisers are also included.
- Regarding men, most are retirees (42), directors, managers, administrators, entrepreneurs, or MEPs (18). 17 of them are deputies. As for women, most are retirees (12), managers (10), or professors or directors (9).
- In terms of professions, the most common categories are engineer (various types – 18%), economist (16%), or lawyer (12%).
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