Legislative elections are scheduled to be held in Romania on 11 December 2016. Elections will be held according to new rules, following the amendment of electoral legislation during 2015. The legislation provides the return to election by list, last used in the 2004 elections. The new electoral legislation provides a norm of representation for deputies of 73,000 inhabitants and 168,000 inhabitants for senators, which will lead to a decrease in the number of MPs. 466 parliamentary seats (308 deputies, 18 minority deputies, and 134 senators) will be contested, versus 588 parliamentarians who had been elected in 2012. The diaspora will be further represented by four deputies and two senators, a premiere consisting in the introduction of vote-by-mail for this type of elections.