The early stages of the 2004 presidential race revolved around
four contenders. Current prime minister Adrian Nastase of the Social Democratic
Party (PDS) was considered the frontrunner. Vadim Tudor of the Party of Great
Romania (PRM) once again was the nominee for the PRM. Lia Roberts—a former
chairwoman for the Republican Party in the state of Nevada—also actively
campaigned for office. Roberts holds dual American-Romanian citizenship. Former
prime minister Theodor Stolojan headed the Justice and Truth (DA) coalition
encompassing the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Party (PD).
A CURS poll conducted in March gave Nastase an early lead with 44 per cent
of the vote, followed by Stolojan with 26 per cent, and Tudor with 15 per
cent. An August CURS/Antena 1 poll kept Nastase as the top presidential contender
with 43 per cent, with Stolojan in second place with 35 per cent, followed
by Tudor, Codrut Seres of the Humanist Party of Romania (PUR) and Roberts.
In October, Bucharest mayor Traian Basescu became the presidential nominee
for the DA coalition after Stolojan withdrew from contention citing health
reasons. Other contenders included Marko Bela of the Hungarian Democratic
Alliance of Romania (UDMR), Gigi Becali of the New Generation Party (PNG),
Gheorghe Ciuhandu of the Democratic National Peasant Party (PNTCD), Marian
Petre Milut of Popular Action (AP) and Petre Roman of Democratic Force (FD).
The two main contenders offered differing fiscal proposals. Nastase called
for a reduction of corporate taxes from 25 per cent to 19 per cent, and a
reduction for the top income tax rate from 40 per cent to 38 per cent. For
his part, Basescu proposed a flat 16 per cent tax rate for both individuals
and corporations.
The PSD has proposed current foreign minister Mircea Geoana to replace Nastase
as prime minister, while the DA alliance nominated businessman and former
cabinet member Calin Popescu.
In late October, a group of several non-governmental organizations known
as the Coalition for a Clean Parliament released several lists of candidates
considered "morally unfit" to hold public office, and asked their
respective parties to remove them from contention. The documents included
more than 200 members of political parties who failed to meet the Coalition’s
criteria by having a criminal record or conducting illegal activities. The
group collected the information about specific candidates from local communities
and media outlets.
In the end, the ruling PSD and the PUR kept 95 of the parliamentary candidates
listed by the Coalition, followed by the PRM with 46, the DA alliance with
nine, and the UDMR with three.
On Nov. 22, at least four Romanian newspapers published hundreds of pages
purported to be transcripts of PDS meetings. In the documents, ministers and
party members alike allegedly discuss issues such as launching a criminal
investigation on Basescu, and how to rig votes in the Senate. Nastase dismissed
the controversy and said the purported transcripts are not genuine, but former
PDS secretary general Cozmin Gusa—now a member of the opposition—said
a section of the documents appears to be accurate.
In November, a poll by CSOP put Basescu ahead of Nastase by just 0.3 per
cent, suggesting the presidential election could be headed for a second round.
Surveys by CURS and Data Media gave Nastase the lead.
Voting took place on Nov. 28. Final results put Nastase in first place with
40.94 per cent of the vote, with Basescu in second place with 33.92 per cent.
The outcome forces a run-off on Dec. 12.
On Nov. 30, Basescu claimed electronic vote-counting procedures cost his
coalition more than 160,000 votes, saying, "It is necessary to repeat
the elections. We are concerned the electoral process is much too affected
by fraud." PSD vice-president and cabinet minister Miron Mitrea said
his party "does not interfere in electoral activity. The elections in
Romania were correct." Central Electoral Bureau president Emil Gherghut
rejected the opposition’s demands.
In the election to the Chamber of Deputies, the National Union (NU)—encompassing
the PDS and the Humanist Party of Romania (PUR)—finished in first place
with 36.61 per cent, followed by the Alliance of Justice and Truth (DA) with
31.33 per cent. In the Senate, the NU held a 5.36 per cent lead over ther
DA.
Political Players
President: Ion Iliescu - PDSR
Prime minister: Adrian Nastase - PDSR
The president is elected to a four-year term by the popular vote.
Legislative Branch: The Parlamentul Romaniei (Romanian Parliament) has two
chambers. The Camera Deputatilor (Chamber of Deputies) has 346 members, elected
to four-year terms; 327 members are elected by proportional representation
and 19 members represent ethnic minorities. The Senatul (Senate) has 143 members,
elected to four-year terms by proportional representation.
Results of Last Election:
President - Nov. 28 and Dec. 12, 2004.
Nov. 28
Dec. 12
Adrian Nastase -
Social Democratic Party (PDS)
40.94%
Traian Basescu -
Justice and Truth (DA)
National Liberal Party (PNL)
Democratic Party (PD)
33.92%
Vadim Tudor -
Party of Great Romania (PRM)
12.57%
--
Marko Bela -
Hungarian Democratic
Alliance of Romania (UDMR)
5.10%
--
Gheorghe Ciuhandu -
Democratic National
Peasant Party (PNTCD)
1.90%
--
Gigi Becali -
New Generation Party (PNG)
1.77%
--
Petre Roman -
Democratic Force (FD)
1.35%
--
Gheorghe Dinu -
Independent
1.08%
--
Marian Petre Milut -
Popular Action (AP)
0.42%
--
Ovidiu Tudorici -
Renewal Union of Romania (URR)
0.36%
--
Aurel Radulescu -
Christian Democrat
Popular Alliance (APCR)
0.34%
--
Alexandru Raj Tunaru -
Youth Democratic Party (PTD)
0.26%
--
Chanber of Deputies - Nov. 28, 2004
Vote%
National Union (UN)
Social Democratic Party (PDS)
Humanist Party of Romania (PUR)
36.61%
Alliance for Justice and Truth (DA)
National Liberal Party (PNL)
Democratic Party (PD)
31.33%
Party of Great Romania (PRM)
12.92%
Hungarian Democratic
Alliance of Romania (UDMR)
6.17%
New Generation Party (PNG)
2.23%
Democratic National
Peasant Party (PNTCD)
1.85%
Senate - Nov. 28, 2004
Vote%
National Union (UN)
Social Democratic Party (PDS)
Humanist Party of Romania (PUR)
37.13%
Alliance for Justice and Truth (DA)
National Liberal Party (PNL)
Democratic Party (PD)
31.77%
Party of Great Romania (PRM)
13.63%
Hungarian Democratic
Alliance of Romania (UDMR)
6.23%
New Generation Party (PNG)
2.36%
Democratic National
Peasant Party (PNTCD)
1.92%
