Former PSD President Victor Ponta submitted his candidacy for the presidential elections as an independent on Wednesday. He stated that Romania is facing an unprecedented crisis after the authorities canceled last year’s elections and blocked candidates whom the system does not want.
Ponta specified that he wants to see if he will be allowed to run, explaining that he might be considered as much of a threat as other candidates who were blocked.
"The Central Electoral Bureau for the election of the President of Romania in 2025 (CEB) informs that on 12.03.2025, the independent candidacy proposal of Mr. Victor-Viorel Ponta for the position of President of Romania was submitted. Along with the candidacy proposal, the electoral sign that Mr. Victor-Viorel Ponta wishes to use in the presidential elections was also submitted for analysis," CEB stated in a press release.
According to the cited document, "The Central Electoral Bureau will analyze and pronounce on the fulfillment of the legality conditions for the registration of the candidacy and the electoral sign."
"CEB's decision regarding the registration or rejection of the candidacy and the electoral sign will be made known to the public in accordance with legal provisions," the statement further reads.
Upon leaving the CEB headquarters, Ponta justified his decision to run. "Romania is facing an unprecedented crisis since 1989, a political, economic, and social crisis. They canceled the elections and the vote of the Romanians on November 24. They blocked the candidates whom the system does not want, and today I want to see if I will be allowed to run because I am probably considered as much of a threat as other candidates who were blocked. We should not move forward solely based on the will of the system and the parties. I believe Romania needs a fresh start, after the trust between the citizen and those who lead them has been broken," stated Victor Ponta.
"A radical change is needed"
He believes that a new beginning is necessary after the system has turned against people in the last ten years.
"I feel like you do that a radical change is needed; the entire system needs to be reset and restarted, a new beginning is required, a system that has failed in the last 10 years and turned against the people. Power must be restored to the Romanians, to those who work hard in Romania and abroad, those who pay taxes and duties, those who have a sovereign right to health, education, pension, respect. I want to make Romania home again for all those who are here, for those in the four corners of the world, for all those who, when they say Romania, mean home," Ponta added.
He also stated that he will be a president who puts Romanians first.
"I will be a president who puts Romania and Romanians first. No one else, no other capital, no other country, no other political leader or organization from outside the country will lead Romania anymore. I want peace, prosperity, and security for Romanians, as we had before. I want democracy and freedom of speech for everyone, whether they agree with me or not, everyone should have the freedom of expression, and we all must pull in the same direction," Victor Ponta emphasized.
Ponta stated that his family suffered because he refused to be a mere puppet.
"I have never accepted to be just a puppet. That's why both I and my family and those close to me have suffered. We went through a desert, but we emerged from that desert stronger and more determined. I didn't run anywhere; I stayed here, fought, won, and now I am much more prepared than I was 10 years ago, much more tempered, much more determined not to take any steps back," Victor Ponta declared.
Former Prime Minister and former PSD President Victor Ponta announced his candidacy as an independent for the position of President of Romania last week.
He claimed that he has "changed a lot" compared to ten years ago, stating that in this decade, he tried not to disappoint those who voted for him and to "understand" those who voted against him in the elections where he was defeated by Klaus Iohannis.