EU citizens who have their official residence in Romania can vote in the local elections that will take place in the country on Sunday, September 27, 2020. 

The EU citizens who are domiciled or residents in Romania are registered in the General Inspectorate for Immigration's records. According to a guide of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP), they will be included in the complementary electoral lists. 

In case an EU citizen is not included on the primary voters' list, they can still vote after being included, on the spot, on supplementary lists, provided they have their official domicile within the jurisdiction of the respective polling station. To find out what polling station one has been allocated, search by your personal code (CNP) and family name on this page – Registrulelectoral.ro.  (in Romanian only). 

EU citizens can exercise their right to vote in Romania's local elections using any valid document attesting their identity and their official address in Romania, according to the AEP.

EU citizens also have the right to be elected as mayor, a local councilor, county councilor, and president of the local council anywhere in Romania, provided they have their official residence in that area. 

This year, it is mandatory to wear a protection mark against Covid-19 in the polling station. Those who do not have masks will be provided one at the polling station. 

The official guide for EU citizens at the 2020 local elections is here (in pdf, in Romanian only). 

To check who are the candidates for the local elections in your locality, go here and select your county to download the full list of candidates from all parties in the localities of that county. For example, young German Dominic Samuel Fritz is running for mayor in Timisoara in Western Romania, on behalf of the USR - Plus party. Elsewhere in Central Romania, in the small village of Cobor, Ticus Commune, Frenchman Erwann Joliff, also from the USR - Plus party, is running for the mayor seat. 

Initially planned for June 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led the Romanian Government to postpone the elections to autumn. Later in 2020, on December 6, Romania will organize organize elections for the Parliament. Foreigners are not allowed to vote in those elections. For the Parliamentary elections, Romania is also organizing polling by mail, mainly allowing Romanians who live abroad to vote by correspondence, upon registering themselves for this type of vote. 

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com 
(photo: Inquam Photos)