Over 50% of the people interviewed have not followed the campaign of the candidates in their constituencies. In fact, they still do not know the names of the people who were elected to represent their respective constituencies four years ago. A mere 38% of respondents know the name of the deputy elected in their constituency and only 32% the name of their senator. When it comes to the activity of their MPs, the figures are even lower: 27% for deputies and 20% for senators.

The poll also shows that 37% of voters know who they are going to vote for, 19% say they are undecided and 5% say they are not going to vote. 44% of respondents say their choice will not be influenced by the election campaign. When asked about the criteria for choosing between one candidate and another, 19% said honesty, 10% said the party, while almost 8% said the candidate’s previous performance and how they fulfilled their election promises.

The nation-wide poll canvassed 1,397 persons, 76% of whom believe things are going in the wrong direction in Romania, as opposed to 10% who say their country is on the right path. By law, candidates have 30 days to persuade voters that they deserve to win one of the 452 seats in Parliament, namely 137 senators and 315 deputies. Voters who wish to find out more about the integrity of the candidates can access an application created by the Alliance for a Clean Romania, a civic movement promoting the principles of good governance.

The criteria taken into consideration are the collaboration with the former communist secret police, the Securitate, and the positions held during the former communist regime, political and administrative positions held after 1989, migration from one party to another and whether a candidate is related to other politicians in the party. Other criteria are wealth, whether a candidate is doing business with the state, the debts of the companies owned by a candidate, conflicts of interests and incompatibility, convictions in court and sponsorship of political parties.