The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are elected in constituencies, by universal, equal, direct, secret, and freely expressed suffrage, on the basis of a list system and independent candidatures, according to the principle of proportional representation. The option for an identical election system of the two Chambers of Parliament confers them the same legitimacy, as both of them are the expression of the will of the same electoral body.

The two Chambers have different numbers of members: the Chamber of Deputies is composed of 332 Deputies, and the Senate, of 137 Senators. This differentiation is possible owing to the legal provision of a representation norm differing from one Chamber to the other. Thus, for the election of the Chamber of Deputies the representation norm is of one Deputy to 70,000 inhabitants, and for the election of the Senate, of one Senator to 160,000 inhabitants.

The number of Deputies and Senators to be elected in each constituency is determined on the basis of the representation norm, by relating the number of inhabitants in each constituency to the representation norm. In a constituency, the number of Deputies cannot be less than 4, and that of Senators, less than 2. The number of inhabitants taken into account is that existing on July 1 of the previous year, published in the Statistical Year-Book of Romania. If, at least 5 months before the election date, a general census has taken place, the number of inhabitants taken into account is that resulting from the census.

The Constitution of Romania and the Election Law grant to legafly constituted organizations of citizens belonging to national minorities, in case these could not obtain in election at least one Deputy or Senator mandate, the "right" to a Deputy mandate, if they have obtained throughout the country a number of votes equal to at least 5 per cent out of the average number of votes validly expressed throughout the country for the election of one Deputy.

The mandates assigned, under the conditions of the Election Law, to organizations of citizens belonging to national minorities are added to the Deputy mandates resulted from the representation norm.