Ciprian Ciucu Elected New Bucharest Mayor in Snap Election

Bucharest Elects New Mayor Following Presidential Transition

Residents of Bucharest, Romania, went to the polls on December 7, 2025, for a snap mayoral election. The election was necessitated by the departure of former mayor Nicușor Dan, who was elected President of Romania in May 2025 and inaugurated on May 26, 2025. The position of Bucharest mayor became vacant upon his presidential ascension, triggering the special election to determine the city's next leader.

Liberal Candidate Ciprian Ciucu Secures Victory

Ciprian Ciucu, representing the National Liberal Party (PNL), was declared the winner of the mayoral race. Ciucu secured 36.16% of the total votes, amounting to 211,562 ballots. This victory positions him to replace Nicușor Dan as the mayor of the Romanian capital. The election was a single-round contest, with the candidate receiving the most votes declared the winner.

Key Contenders and Election Results

The election saw a competitive field of candidates. Following Ciucu, the main contenders and their respective vote percentages were:

• Anca Alexandrescu (backed by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians - AUR): 21.94% (128,405 votes)
• Daniel Băluță (Social Democratic Party - PSD): 20.51% (120,001 votes)
• Cătălin Drulă (Save Romania Union - USR): 13.90% (81,310 votes)

Ciucu's win was notable as he secured a majority in five of the city's six sectors. The outcome has been interpreted by some as a strategic boost for the pro-European coalition in Romania and a rejection of the far-right political momentum observed elsewhere in Europe.

Voter Turnout and Context

The snap election recorded a voter turnout of approximately 32.71%, with 589,918 residents casting their votes out of an estimated 1.8 million registered voters. This turnout marked the lowest in Bucharest for a mayoral election in the last decade. Nicușor Dan had previously won re-election as mayor in June 2024 with 47.65% of the vote, but his subsequent successful presidential campaign led to the current vacancy and the need for this special election.