Daniel Fenechiu, leader of the PNL senators, spoke on Wednesday, 21 October, at the Senate about the chamber’s presidency. He said Mircea Abrudean remains Senate president after PNL moved into opposition. He did not announce a vote. He did not announce a new election.

Abrudean, Fenechiu said, was not a political appointee but was elected by senators under a political understanding nobody has denounced. He asked whether anyone had demanded a resignation and whether anyone had claimed the post. He said he had heard neither. He added that, so long as the post is unclaimed, replacing Abrudean would be an ineptitude. That is Fenechiu’s assessment, not a floor decision.

Asked whether he expected PSD, at some point, to seek Abrudean’s resignation, Fenechiu said he did not. He tied the answer to a minority government and to cooperation with PNL, and to how he describes Abrudean: non-confrontational, part of the solution. He said he does not know how people in PSD think, but that, from his information, the issue is not on the table. It is not a PSD statement and not a rejection voted in the Senate.

Digi24 reported the remarks after Agerpres. Headlines that “settle” the Senate presidency close a debate the plenary did not open on Wednesday. Remaining in office, in this piece, is what the PNL group leader said, not a confirmation ballot.

The Senate president is elected by senators. A change would need a resignation, a removal, or a new majority proposing someone else. Fenechiu says nobody has asked for those steps. Until someone does and the plenary votes, Wednesday’s remarks do not replace the rules.

The context is PNL leaving government and questions about remaining offices. Fenechiu answered at the Senate. He did not table a bill. He did not read a vote record. This article does not say Abrudean was re-elected and does not say PSD asked for, or refused, the post.

Image: CristianChirita, Palace of the Parliament, 15 September 2013, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro, Wikimedia Commons; the building in 2013, not the Senate chamber on Wednesday.

Sources consulted: Fenechiu says Abrudean remains Senate president - Digi24, 21 October 2026; Fenechiu: Mircea Abrudean remains Senate president - AGERPRES, 21 October 2026.