Ciprian Ciucu is the new general mayor of the Capital » The future mayor's plans for sport in Bucharest
Article by Sergiu Alexandru, Remus Dinu – Published Monday, 08 December 2025, 00:19 / Updated on Monday, 08 December 2025 00:19
Ciprian Ciucu (47 years old) won the elections for the Bucharest City Hall. Candidate from the PNL, the mayor of Sector 6 obtained over 36% of the votes, counting 99.38% of the total minutes.
The citizens of Bucharest went to the polls on Sunday to elect the new mayor of the capital, a position left vacant after Nicușor Dan became president. The exit polls indicated Ciprian Ciucu as the winner, and the subsequent count confirmed this scenario, only that to a difference even greater than the estimates since the polls closed.
UPDATE time 00:15 | Ciprian Ciucu is the new general mayor of the Capital
With only 7 sections left to centralize, Ciprian Ciucu can be considered the new general mayor of the Capital. More than 36% of the voters chose the mayor of Sector 6, the only one who was “stamped” by more than 200,000 citizens.
Anca Alexandrescu (AUR) got the second number of votes, just under 130,000, somewhere around 22% of the total preferences. So, a clear victory for Ciucu, far above the estimates from surveys and exit polls.
UPDATE at 23:30 | Ciprian Ciucu has 75,000 advance votes. There are still 52 wards to count
By 11:30 p.m., votes from 1,236 of the 1,289 precincts had been counted. Ciprian Ciucu leads by far, having 198,293 votes in his right, with 75,695 more than Anca Alexandrescu.
In percentages, the difference is telling: Ciucu obtained 35.82% of voters' preferences, Anca Alexandrescu is currently at 22.15%. Next comes Daniel Băluță (20.66%) and Cătălin Drula (13.86%).
Exit-poll Capital City Hall elections 2025: Ciprian Ciucu, close to being the new mayor of Bucharest
According to the polls, Ciprian Ciucu received 32.7% of the votes of Bucharest residents. Mayor of Sector 6, Ciucu beat Daniel Băluță, mayor of Sector 4 and candidate from PSD, and Anca Alexandrescu, independent candidate, supported by AUR. In 4th place would be Cătălin Drula (USR).
- Ciprian Ciucu (PNL) – 32.7%
- Daniel Baluta (PSD) – 26.3%
- Anca Alexandrescu (independent supported by AUR) – 20.2%
- Cătălin Drula (USR) – 12.8%
- Ana Ciceala (SENS) – 6%
The official counting will be completed in the next few hours, when the result of today's elections will also be approved.
- According to Libertatea, at the beginning of his career in big politics, Ciprian Ciucu was the president of PNL Bucharest (July 2021-February 2023). He defeated Violeta Alexandru in the elections. In parallel, Ciucu won the elections to the City Hall of Sector 6 in 2020 and was then re-elected in 2024 in the sector which has a population of approximately 400,000 inhabitants. Also, in November 2024, he became the first vice-president of the PNL, after Ilie Bolojan took over the interim leadership of the party following the resignation of Nicolae Ciucă.
What plans does Ciprian Ciucu have for the sport in Bucharest
In an interview for GSP.ro, in which Daniel Băluță and Cătălin Drula also participated, Ciprian Ciucu answered a set of 10 questions on sports, budgets, infrastructure and other sensitive topics from the world of Bucharest sports,
How do you categorize the situation of the Dinamo stadium?
“I believe that the administrators of the project, the National Investment Company, must answer this question. I do not know the reasons for the postponement of the demolition. I know, from my own experience as a mayor, that before the demolition, different stages of approval must be passed, which can lead to delays.”
The images of the pool where David Popovici trains are already well-known. Is there a plan to set up a new Olympic pool, connected to the requirements of 2025?
“Over time, there have been various plans that did not materialize. Such an investment objective is not under the power of a town hall such as the Capital City Hall today, but I believe that such a project is feasible. As Mayor General I will identify the land and create an Olympic pool.”
Do you think it would be necessary for the National Arena to pass from the City Hall administration to the FRF heritage? If not, how do you plan to increase the profitability of the stadium, in the context where the stadium is in the red year after year.
“Profitability, or at least the reduction of losses, can be achieved on the basis of a calendar of impactful, repetitive, annual events: festivals, concerts. Also, attracting to Romania various sports competitions, on the scale of senior and/or junior world championships in various sports, must become an objective. These things can be achieved with private management.
Here there are two options: (1) external operator with a management contract and the assumption of some costs/royalties, assigned on the basis of transparency and competitiveness or (2) the operation to be carried out by a municipal company with mandatory financial indicators and which ensures a constant level of occupancy. These two options can enable sustained programming of events, commercial partnerships and attracting sponsors”.
Is there any concrete plan for the construction of an ultra-modern multipurpose hall, a theme with which the people of Bucharest have been deceived for many years?
“There is such a plan, old for several years, at the level of the Ministry of Defense, in the area of the Ghencea Stadium, in Sector 5. Bucharest needs a modern, medium-sized multipurpose hall, approx. 30,000 seats, easy to build and operate (possibly in the same regime as I explained in the previous question).
I will evaluate existing options and look for adjacent solutions. I cannot promise the construction of a multipurpose hall that will be ready during the rest of the term, but I can assume the initiation of a project that has a reasonable degree of maturity”.
The budget of the CSM Bucharest section has caused multiple debates over time. How do you approach this topic?
“Audits are always helpful! I can't comment on this at this point because I don't have any efficiency or comparative data.”
How do you see the situation of bike lanes?
“During my mandate in Sector 6, I created approx. 7 km of bicycle paths to the standards required by law, on the newly developed roads. As Mayor General, I will work together with the sector mayors to implement the Velo Masterplan of Bucharest”.
Sport means health. Do you consider the existence of a municipal strategy useful to favor the practice of sports by ordinary citizens?
“Yes, for sure! In District 6, we have opened the schoolyards outside school hours and rehabilitated almost all of them! We have the best school sports facilities in the country and the most sports fields equipped to European standards both in parks and schoolyards: 71.
I will extend this program to the rest of the sectors, based on a strategy discussed with the District Mayors. Such a strategy must include existing sports clubs, but also private clubs operating in neighborhoods. Also in Sector 6, on Lacul Morii, is the longest running track set up on public space in Romania.
It has a length of 2.15 km and benefits from a World Athletics certified system, which is found in many of the stadiums where international athletics competitions have been held.”
The topic of gambling dens continues to create debates on the public agenda, including the proposal to eliminate gambling halls from the city. What is your position on this subject?
“Yes, this is specified in the package dedicated to Local Public Administration from the reform proposed by the Bolojan Government. Thus, the mayors will be able to define some precise areas where such activities can exist. Our goal will be to remove them from the neighborhoods and cluster them in the tourist areas.”
Do you see a plausible unlocking of the BNR arenas, which have been locked and neglected for years and / or their transfer to PMB administration?
“I don't think the PMB budget allows such a takeover now. I don't rule it out in time, but I think it's necessary to focus on the good management of the assets we already have, see the case of the National Arena.”
Is there a strategy for building new “neighborhood” sports facilities or upgrading existing ones, many of which are in an advanced state of disrepair?
“I don't know that there is such a strategy outside Sector 6. In Sector 6 it exists and has been applied year after year, achieving excellent results. See the case of the Cristina Neagu Sports Base”.
