Agora Election Observation (AEO) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation whose mandate is fostering a democratic, participatory, diverse, equal and transnational Europe committed to human rights. In particular, the organisation aims to train young people as international election observers and report on youth participation in elections in Europe. This is done by deploying young people themselves on election observation missions. In accordance with the AEO methodology, observers completed an e-learning course on election observation and undertook research on the electoral process in Romania.
This preliminary statement focuses mainly on the direct observation of Election Day. More detailed findings will be presented in a final report drawing on the full analysis of the data collected throughout the Mission.
The AEO Mission to Romania consists of a 8-member core team based in Bucharest and 18 observers of 12 nationalities deployed across Romania to observe the 1 December 2024 Parliamentary Elections. The observers arrived in Romania on 27 November and will depart on 3 December. Upon deployment, the mission met with a number of stakeholders, including election administration authorities, political party and civil society representatives. For the Election Day, observers were sent to eight electoral constituencies of Romania; Bucharest, Cluj, Iaşi, Timiș, Constanta, Sibiu, Bacău and Brașov. They visited 122 polling stations and followed opening, voting, closing and counting procedures. According to their reports, the election day was well-administered, procedures were generally adhered to, and the election administration demonstrated a high level of professionalism and a strong understanding of the required procedures.
Romanian electoral legislation provides for citizen and international election observation; the Permanent Electoral Authority (PEA) issues accreditation to observers. For this election the PEA accredited observers from civil society organizations, international organizations, foreign election management bodies, and diplomatic corps. The law allows accredited observers to be present during opening, voting and counting procedures on Election Day; however, it does not explicitly provide for observation of other stages of the electoral process, such as sessions of election bodies. Polling station members were not always familiar with the procedures for accommodating election observers, resulting in some degree of inconsistency in how they were received. Nonetheless, polling station members were cooperative, and AEO observers did not face significant restrictions during their observation.
The voting was conducted in a generally well-organized manner. The atmosphere at polling stations observed by AEO was calm and orderly, despite the heightened political climate surrounding the concurrently contested presidential elections with its ongoing recount mandated by the Supreme Court.
In all observed polling stations voters were asked to present ID documents in order to be scanned by the tablet operator. While there were a few minor irregularities noted, such as inconsistencies in the sealing of ballot boxes. AEO observers did not identify any instances of campaigning inside or near polling stations.
Polling staff appeared well-trained and knowledgeable about election procedures, receiving training from both the election administration and political parties. Some polling workers specifically referred to educational materials provided by the PEA. Although there was a possibility to request a mobile ballot box, full participation of people with disabilities was not ensured as 52% of polling stations visited by AEO observers were not accessible to voters with physical impairments.
In the polling stations visited AEO observers noted that young people aged 35 or younger represented one third of commision members and in 15% of the cases the chairperson was under 35. Women made up two thirds of poll workers in general and also as chairpersons at the polling stations observed.
At the same time, AEO observers noted that many voters were unsure of the voting procedure. The design of the ballot paper created some confusion, particularly when voters attempted to insert ballots into the ballot boxes assigned for the elections to the Senate and for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. The ballot paper format also posed challenges during vote counting, requiring polling staff to carefully examine each page of the ballot booklet ensuring that there was only one stamp which delayed the counting process.
The closing of polling stations as well as counting process was assessed positively by observers, despite the fact that in few cases minor procedural misdemeanors were noted. Transparency could be increased as 45% of the observed polling stations did not show each ballot paper to the observers as foreseen by Romanian legislation.
The AEO team would like to thank election administration authorities, political party and civil society representatives and academia of Romania, as well as other international and domestic observers, local coordinators and interpreters, who contributed to the completion of this mission. AEO would especially like to acknowledge Commit Global for the free provision of the Vote Monitor app.
