The mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, announced on Monday night that he would run as an independent candidate in Romania’s presidential elections, scheduled for spring 2025.

This follows the Constitutional Court’s annulment of the first round of the presidential election, originally scheduled for November. Although running as an independent, Dan expressed hope of support from pro-European parties.

The 54-year-old is the first politician to formally declare his candidacy, although a new election date has yet to be set. Following the unprecedented annulment of the presidential election on 24 November by the Constitutional Court and the parliamentary election on 1 November – in which three extremist parties won seats in parliament – pro-European parties are currently negotiating a coalition government.

The postponed elections are expected to take place in late March or early April.

Dan said he planned to negotiate the support of four pro-European parties, although their initial reactions were not favourable.

Senator Cristian Ghinea, a leader of the USR (Save Romania Union), said the party already had its own candidate, Elena Lasconi, who won 1.7 million votes in the November elections. “I don’t see why we would drop her,” he added.

Daniel Suciu, the president of the Chamber of Deputies and a member of the Social Democratic Party, expressed scepticism, saying that as a Social Democrat, it would be “very difficult” for him to support Dan, a centre-right politician.

Romania is facing its “most difficult moment” since the 1989 revolution, Nicușor Dan declared at his press conference on Monday. “It will be a tough battle between those defending the public interest and those protecting the interests of corrupt groups.”

A mathematician by profession, Dan entered politics after years of involvement in non-governmental organisations.

He founded the Union Save Bucharest (USB), which later became the Union Save Romania (USR), a member of Renew Europe. His first attempt to become mayor of Bucharest in 2012 was unsuccessful, but he won the position in 2020, running as an independent after leaving the USR due to internal disputes. He was re-elected mayor in June 2024 with 46.9% of the vote.

Calling for a “fundamental change” in the way the state responds to citizens’ needs, Dan wants to bring corruption back to the forefront of public discourse.

Criticising the influence of “interest groups” on key institutions, he described the current state of governance in Romania as lacking a clear direction.

(Sebastian Rotaru, Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)

Source: Euractiv.com