With the date of this year’s Bucharest mayoral elections set, the list of candidates for the job is taking shape as the parties that are part of the governing coalition have announced their proposals, and several independents are also joining the race.
The governing coalition has set the date for the elections to decide the next general mayor of Bucharest on December 7. The office has been vacant since the former Bucharest mayor, Nicuşor Dan, was elected president in May and has been occupied by interim general mayor Stelian Bujduveanu, a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL). By law, the government was required to organize the elections within 90 days following Dan’s resignation. The deadline for this to happen expired in early September. With the date set, a list of candidates has started to emerge.
Daniel Băluță
Social Democrat Party (PSD)
A Bucharest native, the current mayor of District 4 graduated from the Dental Faculty of the Carol Davila University of Medicine in Bucharest. He became a dentist in 2004 and practiced until 2012, when he entered politics. He started as a councilor in the District 4 local council and was a deputy mayor of District 4 between July 2013 and June 2016. That year, he was elected mayor of District 4, a position he has held since, after being reelected in 2020 and 2024.
Among the projects he takes credit for are the Tudor Arghezi subway station, which District 4 City Hall built in partnership with Metrorex; a dental hospital in the district; an ER and burn unit at Bagdasar Arseni Hospital; and the ice skating rink Berceni Arena. The district he leads has started the consolidation works on Bucharest’s central Unirii Platform, which is in an advanced state of degradation, not without a conflict over the necessary permits with then-general mayor Nicușor Dan. Additionally, the district also wants to build an airport in the southern part of the city.
Ciprian Ciucu
National Liberal Party (PNL)
He has been the mayor of Bucharest’s District 6 since 2020, when he first won the elections for the job. He was reelected in 2024 with 73% of the votes. Ciucu studied Political Sciences at the National School of Political and Administrative Sciences (SNSPA) in Bucharest. After completing his graduate studies, he worked for a year in the PR department of the Romanian Presidency, handling press relations and organizing press events. He went on to work as a consultant on various projects supported by various international organizations. He established the Center for Urban and Territorial Development, and is a co-founder of the think tank Romanian Center for European Policies. Before becoming mayor, he was also the president of the National Agency of Public Servants (2019-2020).
During his mandate as mayor of a district with some 400,000 residents, he consolidated and rehabilitated several schools and kindergartens, while one nursery, two kindergartens, and four school buildings were built from scratch. Several roads were refurbished, and more than 400,000 sqm of green areas were set up. Crângași Park was modernized, a new park, Liniei, was added, while works are underway on the island in Lacul Morii. In the district he leads, a food bank and a soup kitchen were built, and work are underway on a district hospital, among other projects.
Cătălin Drulă
Save Romania Union (USR)
The former minister of transport was a top student in informatics and won awards at international contests in the discipline. After graduating from the Tudor Vianu Informatics High School in Bucharest, he left for Canada on a scholarship. There, he graduated from the University of Toronto in 2002 and later received an MA with the research paper Fast and Energy Efficient Neighbor Discovery for Opportunistic Networking with Bluetooth. Also in Canada, he founded a company that developed a technology platform for Bluetooth communication.
By 2015, he had returned to the country, where he founded the Pro Infrastructura Association, a non-profit that monitors public infrastructure projects and signals delays in delivery and other issues. He entered the Romanian Parliament in 2016, when he was elected a deputy of Timiș county on the lists of the Save Romania Union (USR). The same year, he was named a state councilor for transport infrastructure in the government led by Dacian Cioloș. He was reelected as a Timiș county deputy in 2020 and 2024. He served as a minister of transport and infrastructure in the government led by Florin Cîțu, for less than a year, between December 2020 and September 2021. He resigned from the government, alongside other USR ministers, over disagreements with the PM.
During his mandate as a minister, he negotiated and closed the Transport chapter of the resilience facility PNRR, signed contracts for 80 km of highways and expressways, and launched and contracted bids for the design of 960 km of roads, according to a presentation on his website. He clashed with the management of the Bucharest subway operator Metrorex over a protest where the subway workers’ union USLM blocked the running of the subway trains, disrupting the public transport in the city for a day.
He became the president of USR in July 2022. He held the job until June 2024, when he resigned following the party’s poor score in the local elections.
Ana Ciceală
SENS
The former city councilor announced her candidacy this July, supported by the progressive, non-parliamentary party SENS.
A graduate of the Philosophy Faculty of the University of Bucharest, she worked in the corporate world in areas such as HR, forestry, legal, and outsourcing. In 2015, she joined the Save Bucharest Association, the non-profit founded by now-president Nicuşor Dan, and later worked as a project manager for it. She was elected a municipal councilor on the lists of USR.
She has been vocal in defending the green areas of the city and has requested tougher sanctions for the illegal felling. She has also spoken about building a city for the people, one of communities, and for future generations.
Vlad Gheorghe
Independent
The former independent MEP announced he was running to become mayor of the capital with the plan to eliminate the city’s districts and the county of Ilfov, which surrounds Bucharest, and promised a referendum on the topic if elected.
Gheorghe holds a Law degree from the Romanian-American University in Bucharest and a Master’s degree in Fiscal Law from the University of Bucharest. He has worked for NGOs and private companies that carried out projects backed by European funds. According to his bio, after the Colectiv club fire, he decided to get involved civically and politically and joined the Save Romania Union (USR) since its inception. There, he has been a member of the USR legal team in the Romanian Parliament. He was elected a member of the European Parliament in 2020, on the lists of USR, and turned independent in February 2024.
Anca Alexandrescu
The presenter working for Realitatea Plus, a TV station that strongly supported pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu, announced she would also run for mayor, G4media.ro reported. This August, Georgescu said he would support her if he decided to run for the job. Alexandrescu was previously a councilor for various PSD leaders, among them Victor Ponta, Viorica Dăncilă, and Liviu Dragnea.
At the time of writing, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the main opposition party, hasn’t announced a candidate. Hotnews.ro reported that AUR is to decide on Monday, November 3, if the party supports Alexandrescu’s bid.
George Burcea
Young People’s Party (POT)
Burcea is an actor, known for his role in the first season of the series Wednesday. He made the announcement in a video filming himself in New York.
(Photo: Albertophotography | Dreamstime.com)
simona@romania-insider.com
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