Presidential elections were held in Romania on 10 November 2019, with a second round held on 24 November 2019. They were the eighth presidential election held in post-1989 Romania. Incumbent president Klaus Iohannis, first elected in the 2014 election, was eligible for re-election.

In the first round, Iohannis finished first with 37.82% of the vote, while former prime minister and ex-leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Viorica Dăncilă, finished second with 22.26%. As no candidate received an absolute majority, the two advanced to the second round.

In the second round, Iohannis defeated Dăncilă in a landslide, receiving 66.09% of the vote to her 33.91%. It was the third-highest vote share in a Romanian presidential election since 1989, behind only Ion Iliescu, who received 85.07% of the vote in 1990 and 66.83% in 2000.

Background Klaus Iohannis won the previous presidential election in 2014 and was sworn in for his first term on 21 December 2014. According to the Article 83 of the Constitution of Romania, the "term of office of the President of Romania is five years, being exercised from the date the oath was taken,"Constitution of Romania, Article 83 but only for up to two terms. In June 2018, incumbent president Iohannis publicly announced his intention of running for a second term as president. The electoral calendar for the presidential elections was set by the Romanian Government.

The final results for the first round were publicly announced by Central Electoral Bureau and Permanent Electoral Authority on 14 November 2019. The results were forwarded to the Constitutional Court of Romania that validated the results on 15 November 2019. After the Constitutional Court's validation, the results were sent for publication to the Official Journal of Romania (Monitorul Oficial al României). Only after the publication by the Official Journal, the results for the first round of the elections became official.

The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) forwarded the final results for the second round to the Constitutional Court of Romania for validation on 28 November 2019, on the last day of the settled electoral calendar. The Constitutional Court of Romania validated the results in the same day.

Candidates National Liberal Party (PNL) President Klaus Iohannis was eligible for re-election. His candidacy in the 2014 elections was supported by the National Liberal Party (PNL), whose President he was at that time. Upon taking office as president, Iohannis suspended his PNL membership, as the Constitution does not allow the president to be a formal member of a political party during his term. Ludovic Orban, the president of the PNL, reconfirmed the party's support for Iohannis after the elections. On 11 March 2018, the National Council of PNL formally endorsed Klaus Iohannis for a new term as president.

Social Democratic Party (PSD) Liviu Pleșoianu, a member of the Chamber of Deputies for Bucharest since 2016 for the Social Democratic Party (PSD), declared his candidacy on 23 July 2017. Liviu Dragnea, President of the Chamber of Deputies since 2016, and Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest since 2016, are thought to be other potential PSD candidates. However, both have refuted these media speculations, Firea stating she wants to finish her term as mayor, while Liviu Dragnea rejected the idea and stated he and the PSD concentrate on the governing program and the parliamentary agenda, as Dragnea is President of the Chamber of Deputies. After being convicted on corruption charges on 27 May 2019, Dragnea became ineligible to run for president.

Save Romania Union (USR) and PLUS Alliance Nicușor Dan, a former President of the Save Romania Union (USR), the third largest political party in the country, believed that the party should run its own candidate for the elections. Dan Barna, the new President of the USR, stated in an interview with Adevărul that the USR would have a presidential candidate, decided by a vote within the party. Barna also said that "Dacian Cioloș may be an option, like any well-known person".

Former Minister of Labor in Cioloș Government, Dragoș Pîslaru, who is among the founders of the new party of former Prime Minister, the PLUS, said the party was ready for a possible candidacy for the presidency of leader Dacian Cioloș. He also stressed that a candidacy of President Iohannis for a new term would not exclude a candidacy of Dacian Cioloș. On 8 June 2018, Cioloș said he would not run against Klaus Iohannis. However he subsequently stated that he would assume any responsibility that his recently founded political party (PLUS) would bestow upon him, not excluding the presidency.

In the aftermath of the results of the 2019 European Parliament elections, USR and PLUS decided to keep the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance for the presidential elections, and nominated Dan Barna as joint candidate.

Other political parties Many voices inside ALDE suggested that Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, the party leader and former President of the Senate, should be the proposal of the PSD–ALDE coalition for the upcoming election and asked for PSD support in this regard. Tăriceanu himself considered that the best option for the presidential election is a PSD–ALDE joint candidacy. On 24 July 2019, ALDE announced that Tăriceanu would run for president on its ticket.

In a press conference on 26 October 2017, Victor Ponta, a former Prime Minister and runner-up in the 2014 elections, claimed that his newly established party, PRO Romania, would nominate a candidate in the elections, but denied that he would run for the presidency again.

On 25 August 2019, Theodor Paleologu was designated candidate of the People's Movement Party (PMP).

On 7 July 2019, Ramona-Ioana Bruynseels launched her candidacy. The announcement was met with surprise and intrigue from political commentators. Bruynseels has set her platform on taking on the broken political system in Romania that she argues is working against the interests of its citizens. Bruynseels is a centrist politician and was the candidate of the Humanist Power Party. At the time of these elections, the party was controlled from behind the scenes by Romanian mogul and former longtime Securitatea collaborator Dan Voiculescu.

Candidates qualified for the second round

On 28 November 2019, The Romanian Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) forwarded the final results to the Constitutional Court of Romania, which validated the results in the same day.

Name Born Public Office Experience Campaign and affiliationAlma mater and profession Candidacy Klaus Iohannis(age )Sibiu, Sibiu CountyPresident of Romania (2014–election day)Mayor of Sibiu (2000–2014)Former presidential election:2014: 30.37% (2nd place, 1st round), 54.43% (winner, 2nd round)Motto: Pentru o Românie normală(For a Normal Romania)Affiliation: PNL(membership suspended while being President of Romania)Endorsed by: FDGR/DFDREndorsement added for the second round: 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance, PMPFaculty of Physics, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca (1983)Physics teacherOfficial: BEC filing: BEC validation: CCR validation for qualifying to the second round: CCR validation as President-elect:Viorica Dăncilă(age )Roșiorii de Vede, Teleorman CountyPrime Minister of Romania (2018–2019)MEP (2009–2018)Motto: Alături de fiecare român(Standing by each Romanian)Affiliation: PSDEndorsed by: PNȚCD, UNPREndorsement added for the second round: FN, PNeRFaculty of Drilling of Wells and Exploitation of Hydrocarbon Deposits, Petroleum and Gas University, Ploiești (1988)Oil engineer, petroleum technology teacherOfficial: BEC filing: BEC validation: CCR validation for qualifying to the second round: CCR validation of the second round results:

Candidates that competed only in the first round For all these candidates, the competition ended on 15 November 2019, when the Constitutional Court of Romania validated the results of the first round (only the first two placed competitors were qualified for the second round).