Gandul
The senator was elected on the lists of opposition party PMP at the 2016 parliamentary elections, but later left the party and joined the ruling PSD group after a brief stint as an independent.
The National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR), a former ruling coalition party during the Victor Ponta cabinets, was re-established as an independent entity last year following a failed merging process with PMP, which began several months before the 2016 elections. Oprea, who was previously the party’s leader before resigning in mid-2016, was re-elected as its chairman.