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AUR proposes eliminating the alternative 20% electoral threshold, a measure that could leave UDMR out of Parliament

Gabriel Dumitrache

23 October 2026, 14:51

Politics

Lucian Alecu / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

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The leader of the AUR senators, Petrișor Peiu, has submitted to the Senate a legislative initiative that eliminates the alternative electoral threshold for parliamentary elections, a measure that could affect UDMR’s access to Parliament.

Currently, Law no. 208/2015 allows a party to participate in the allocation of seats if it obtains either at least 5% of the total number of valid votes cast nationwide or a minimum of 20% of the votes in at least four electoral constituencies. The AUR bill amends Article 94 and retains exclusively the 5% national threshold.

According to the initiator, the change would simplify electoral legislation and introduce a uniform representativeness criterion. Petrișor Peiu argues that the current system can produce different results for parties with similar national percentages, depending on the geographical distribution of votes. He specifies that the bill does not raise the 5% threshold and does not entail additional budgetary costs.

The alternative threshold was introduced to facilitate the representation of the Hungarian community, which accounts for approximately 6% of Romania’s population. UDMR is the party that ordinarily meets it, owing to concentrated support in counties such as Harghita, Covasna, Mureș, Satu Mare, Bihor, and Sălaj. Eliminating this option would force the party to reach the national threshold.

Context: From discussions about snap elections to tensions with UDMR, AUR has outlined its position ahead of the initiative concerning the electoral law

Before the legislative démarche, AUR senators’ leader, Petrișor Peiu, publicly called for snap elections, saying that this is the only solution to overcome the political deadlock and that he would convey his message to President Nicușor Dan during consultations at Cotroceni Palace. Peiu criticized the way the head of state is managing the formation of the majority and rejected the idea that AUR’s participation in government would affect financial stability or Romania’s relations with its external partners.

Meanwhile, UDMR indicated options it could support: the interim Minister of Agriculture, Tanczos Barna, said that the party does not accept a majority with AUR, but could support a minority government led by PSD without AUR, as well as other formulas, advocating stability amid political instability.

At the same time, Kelemen Hunor stated that snap elections would not change the composition of Parliament “for the better,” but would maintain the same structure, with AUR growing, while Peiu argued that there is a parliamentary majority in favor of snap elections and challenged the way the discussions with the president had unfolded.