Ciprian Ciucu, about the elections in Bucharest: Each party will have its own candidate / “My survey shows me detached as an option for the Capital City Hall”

PNL First Vice-President Ciprian Ciucu, who is also the mayor of Sector 6, announced on Tuesday evening that the date of the partial elections for the Capital City Hall was set for December 7, and the governing coalition decided that each formation would come with its own candidate. He also claimed that he has a “own” profile that shows him “detached as an option” in the race for Bucharest City Hall.

Ciucu made these statements after the meeting of the PNL leadership, noting that the first topic discussed at the level of the governing coalition was the one related to the partial elections.

“The date agreed upon by all was December 7. Also, the coalition, at the political level, decided that each party in the coalition will go with its own candidate. That is, we will all have our own candidate, this will be the decision in the end and I informed the colleagues from the PNL”, said the mayor.

Asked by reporters if he will be the candidate of the liberals in the race for the Capital City Hall, Ciprian Ciucu answered: “As for the fact that each party must come with its own candidate, I did an opinion poll a month and a half ago. My own poll shows me detached as an option for the Capital City Hall. I cannot announce my candidacy. On Thursday, the government will issue a Government Decision (HG for organization of elections, no)”

“We have internal, statutory procedures that we have to go through and I expect to see if I will get the support of my colleagues. I am reserved on this subject until these stages are completed,” he added.

“The periods are halved in the case of partial elections. The government decision will include these terms, I hope that the statute will allow us to enter into an electoral campaign of a maximum of three weeks”, said the mayor.

“We agreed in the Coalition not to hold any referendum related to special pensions”

Ciprian Ciucu also announced on Tuesday evening that it was decided in the coalition not to hold a referendum on the subject of special pensions with the partial elections for the Capital City Hall.

“I think we have to put into practice the referendums we voted for. Already people no longer come to the referendum because they lose faith in it,” the mayor also declared.

Regarding the referendum organized by the former general mayor of the Capital, Nicușor Dan, in which the people of Bucharest voted that it should be put into practice, Ciucu stated: “Indeed, it was not on the public agenda, there were other priorities. But now is the right time to put the referendum into practice, but we do not know who will be mayor.”

“The prime minister (Ilie Bolojan, nr) consulted with his own party, with the president of Romania, with the party presidents in the coalition. Obviously, we said let's not force a (rupture) within the coalition, we said we are mature enough not to attack each other. That was agreed today,” Ciucu said, about the decision for each party to participate in the Bucharest City Hall elections with its own candidate.

“The future general mayor must know how to collaborate with the mayors of the sectors. He must have the intellectual breadth and personality necessary for this,” he added.

Ciucu had declared, a day ago, after the CCR decision related to magistrates' pensions, that a referendum on the elimination of special pensions would be appropriate to be organized together with this year's local partial elections.

In a post made earlier on Tuesday on Facebook, Ciucu had stated that it would be correct for the referendum on Bucharest, initiated by Nicușor Dan last year, as general mayor, to be put into practice before the elections.

“I think it would be correct that the referendum on Bucharest, validated last year, initiated by Mr. Nicușor Dan, then general mayor, be put into practice before the partial elections. Regardless of what a sector mayor or the hypothetical future general mayor wants. Now we have a window of opportunity, it is not known who will be general mayor. PS We agreed today in the Coalition not to mix things up and not hold any new referendum related to special pensions, as a solution to unblock the relationship with the CCR. The solution will have to be constitutional and political”, the mayor wrote in the message published online.

On November 24, 2024, the citizens of Bucharest expressed their opinion on three themes proposed by the then general mayor, Nicușor Dan. The referendum was validated both from the point of view of the turnout at the polls and the positive answers to the three questions asked. The citizens of Bucharest answered three questions: “Do you agree that the distribution of income taxes and local taxes collected from the citizens of Bucharest between the Bucharest City Hall and the sector municipalities should be approved by the General Council of the City of Bucharest?”; “Do you agree that the general mayor of Bucharest should issue building permits for the entire administrative territory of the city?”; “Do you agree that Bucharest City Hall should finance and implement an education program for health and prevention of drug use in all schools in Bucharest?”.

Earlier on Tuesday, HotNews sources present at the meeting at the Victoria Palace confirmed that the current governing coalition decided that the elections for the Capital City Hall will take place on December 7. During the meeting, the PSD imposed its requirement regarding the candidates, so that the three parties (PSD, PNL, USR) will have separate candidates.

The government led by Ilie Bolojan is now going to issue the Government Decision which will establish that the elections for the Capital City Hall will be held on December 7.

Tuesday's coalition agreement came after PNL and USR were considering having a common candidate for the Capital City Hall, in order to increase their chances and not fragment the right-wing electorate. The PSD did not agree, even saying that the social democrats would end up being isolated in the governing coalition.

The organization of the elections in Bucharest was a hot topic of discussion within the governing coalition. USR asked for their organization as soon as possible, and PSD asked that each party have separate candidates. PSD argued that if PNL and USR form an alliance for Bucharest City Hall, the governing coalition may break.

Daniel Băluță, the current PSD mayor of Sector 4, leads in voting intentions for the General City Hall of the Capital, with 25%, according to a CURS survey published on Sunday. Cătălin Drula (USR) and Ciprian Ciucu (PNL) are tied for second place, each with 18%, according to a survey published on Sunday, October 19. The survey was conducted by the Center for Urban and Regional Sociology (CURS) between October 8–17, 2025, on a sample of 1,072 respondents from Bucharest, with a margin of error of ±3%, at a confidence level of 95%.