The joint sitting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate finished on Tuesday 20 October 2026 a secret ballot, with balls, on the government proposed by Luca Niculescu. Passage required at least 233 votes in favour out of 464 members. AGERPRES recorded that the vote had ended; counting and the announcement from the chair are a different step from the opening of the ballot.

Political sources and the parties’ parallel counts, carried by Mediafax, Gândul and Jurnalul, give 280 votes in favour and 58 against. Gândul, also citing sources, wrote 338 votes cast. Jurnalul noted that the official announcement by Parliament’s leadership was still to come. Until that announcement, 280–58 remain source figures, not a tally read from the rostrum.

The prime minister’s and the ministers’ terms start when they take the oath before President Nicușor Dan, not when the ballot closes. Mediafax wrote that after the vote the cabinet must swear in at Cotroceni in order to exercise its powers. At the time of this article, the oath had not been reported as taken.

The sitting was chaired by Chamber speaker Sorin Grindeanu and Senate president Mircea Abrudean. All proposed ministers had received favourable committee opinions. The cabinet is made up of PSD ministers and independents; the PNL and UDMR said they would give parliamentary support without joining the government. USR and AUR said they would not vote for investiture.

Niculescu, a former ambassador to Paris and coordinator of the OECD file, is President Dan’s fourth nomination after the Bolojan government fell. Gândul counted 168 days since the no-confidence vote. Speeches in the chamber — priorities, new ministries, attacks among leaders — are not an applied programme and they do not replace the vote.

An earlier Mediafax note, before the figures settled, spoke of “more than 265” votes. That is not the same number as 280. The two are not mixed here.

Image: Palace of the Parliament seen from Unirii Square, Bucharest, 19 July 2015, Ștefan Jurcă, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The building, not the voting hall.

Sources consulted: Guvernul Luca Niculescu a fost votat de Parlament. România are un nou premier după aproape șase luni de criză politică. Surse: 280 de voturi pentru și 58 împotrivă — Mediafax; VIDEO Parlament - învestire Guvern/ Votul din plenul reunit s-a încheiat — AGERPRES; Guvernul Luca Niculescu a trecut. A obținut 280 de voturi — Jurnalul.