Credit:Flag courtesy of ITA’s Flags of All Countries used with permission.

Election Date: November 30, 2008

At Stake: Parliament

Background

Located in South-East Central Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula, Romania shares a border with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, Hungary and Serbia to the west and Bulgaria to the south. Its population is approximately 22 million, and its life expectancy is 71.9 years.

The area that Romania now occupies has experienced a wave of geographic and political transformations over the years, with the most pertinent taking place in the 20th Century.

Backing the Allies in World War I and the Axis powers in World War II, Romania was ultimately invaded by the Red Army and a government supported by the Soviet Union was gradually instilled.

An armistice with the Soviet Union was signed in Moscow in September 1944 and a communist-dominated government bloc won the election in 1946. King Michael—the country’s ruler from 1927 to 1930 and from 1940 to 1947—abdicated his throne and went into exile. Romania became home to a communism regime that would last until 1989.

Gheorghe Gheorghiu–Dej ruled Romania from 1947 until his death, in 1965. Under his regime, Romania joined the Warsaw Pact and the United Nations. After his death, his protégé Nicolae Ceausescu took control of the Communist Party and became president.

Ceausescu’s policies would shape the future of Romania for 24 years. Initially a popular figure due to his defiance against the influence of the Soviet Union in Romania and his independent foreign policies, Ceausescu gradually lost the respect of the Romanian public due to his oppressive style, his cult of personality, and his unwillingness to proceed to de-Stalinization.

In the 1980s, Ceausescu decided to export most of the country’s agricultural products to cover foreign debt payments of $10 billion, provoking a shortage of food, fuel and other basic necessities. Eventually, an army-assisted uprising in December 1989 caused the leader’s demise and led to a change in government for the first time since World War II.

Less than two years after Ceausescu’s downfall, a new body of law was adopted to protect democratic structures and establish a multi-party system. Ion Iliescu, an ex-Communist and leader of the National Salvation Front, served as president from 1990 to 1995, while Emil Constantinescu of the Democratic Convention Party followed from 1996 to 2000.

Growing dissatisfaction with the government’s inefficiencies and economic policies—as well as the inability to follow through on promises to bring a free-market economy to Romania—led to a wave of protests in 1997 and 1999.

In 2000, Iliescu returned to power, with a major defeat over ultra-nationalistic opponent Corneliu Vladim Tudor of the Party of Great Romania (PRM).

In 2003, citizens overwhelmingly endorsed a revamped constitution through a referendum, bringing it into conformity with European Union (EU) legislation.

According to the new constitution, Romania is defined as a semi-presidential democratic republic with the executive functions shared between the president and the prime minister. The president is elected by popular vote for a maximum of two terms of five years. Once elected, the president appoints the prime minister, who in turn appoints the cabinet.

In March 2004, Romania continued its pursuit of stronger relations with the West, by joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In advance of the 2004 elections, the Democratic Party (DP) joined forces with the National Liberal Party (PNL) to create the Justice and Truth (DA) alliance, whose primary reason for founding was to combat the Social Democratic Party (PDS).

DA candidate Traian Basescu defeated Adrian Nastase of the PDS with 51.23 per cent in the second round of the presidential election. In the legislative contest, the DA finished second to the PDS, but eventually joined forces with the Hungarian Democratic Alliance (UDRM), the Conservative Party (PC) and the ethnic minority representatives to form the government. Basescu appointed PNL leader Calin Popescu Tariceanu as prime minister.

In July 2005, Tariceanu—who was often at odds with Basescu on many policy-related issues—conveyed plans to resign but later changed his mind after he noted the need for a united government to focus on relief efforts in response to summer floods.

In December 2005, the government further enhanced relations with the United States by signing an agreement that would allow U.S. troops to train and be stationed at several military facilities throughout the country.

Also in its first year in power, the governing political alliance successfully dealt with a hostage situation in Iraq involving three journalists, as well as an outbreak of avian flu in several areas of the country.

In January 2007, Romania officially joined the European Union (EU). This development had a significant influence on the country’s domestic policy, as Romania increased judicial cooperation with other member states, pledged to combat corruption, and has instituted several reforms.

Also in 2007, the Justice and Truth alliance underwent major changes as Tariceanu dismissed the PD ministers and the coalition dissolved. Tariceanu assembled a minority government comprising the PNL and the UDMR.

2007 Referendum: Impeachment of President

In April 2007, Basescu was suspended from the presidency over charges of abuse of power in a 322-108 Chamber of Deputies vote, following an initiative developed by PNL members of parliament loyal to Tariceanu. Tension had already been growing between Basescu and Tariceanu, and Senate president Nicolae Vacaroiu was named acting president.

Lawmakers later announced that Basescu’s future would be decided in a national referendum, scheduled for May 19.

Opposition lawmakers justified their decision to impeach Basescu, claiming that the president had infringed upon and "substituted" the authority" of the government, the judicial system and the Parliament; committed acts of "political partisanship" with direct reference to the DP and abused his power by acting more like a "judge of the other public authorities" than a "collaborator" and thus "abandoned his role of impartial mediator required by the Romanian constitution"; and manipulated and "investigated public opinion against other state institutions" such as the Parliament and the government.

Basescu denied the accusations and argued that his statements, as well as any actions during his presidency, were ways of fighting against corruption in the political and judicial systems and against "circles of business interests" with illicit purposes.

On May 19, 74 per cent of participating Romanian voters rejected Basescu’s impeachment in a national referendum. On May 24, the president was reinstated.

2007 Referendum: Voting System

On Nov. 25, 2007, another referendum took place, this time to determine whether the voting system in Romania would be changed to single-member voting, based on a majority vote in two rounds.

The new system—which was proposed by Basescu and would reduce the number of lawmakers by about 20 per cent—mirrors the French two-round electoral system. It was also a contrast from the system proposed by Tariceanu, which is similar to Germany’s and entails a mixed member proportional system.

Final results showed that 81 per cent of voters were in favour of Basescu’s proposal. However, since only 26 per cent of voters showed up to vote, the referendum was deemed invalid.

2008 Local Elections

In December 2006, several members of the PNL—including former prime minister Theodor Stolojan—assembled as the Liberal-Democrats (PLD) to protest the leadership of Tariceanu. In January 2008, the PLD officially merged with the PD to form the Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L). The organization joined the European People’s Party (EPP) and retained Emil Boc as its leader.

On Apr. 17, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Conservative Party (PC) announced they would form a political alliance before the local elections in Romania.

On Jun. 1, local elections were held throughout Romania, with an estimated 18 million Romanians eligible to vote for 3,200 mayors, 40,000 members of district councils and 41 chairmen of district councils. Preliminary results showed that fewer than 50 per cent of voters exercised their right to vote, with only 30 per cent of Bucharest residents taking part in the democratic process.

Across the country, the PSD won 661 mayoral positions, while the PDL secured 472 and the PNL garnered 355. In the council elections, the PD-L and the PSD both gained 425 seats nationwide. The PNL followed with 279 seats.

In most big cities, the first round did not resolve the local mayoral elections, leading to several run-offs. Conflicts between supporters of the various political parties also occurred at some of the voting stations, requiring police intervention.

The local elections are very significant to the future of Romania, as they might be a good indicator of the way the 2008 presidential and parliamentary ballot will progress.

2008 Parliamentary Election

The 2008 Romanian presidential and parliamentary election will take place on Nov. 30, 2008.

This year’s local elections provided a glimpse into the three main national contenders: the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L). The race for prime minister includes incumbent Calin Popescu Tariceanu of the PNL and Mircea Geoana of the SDP. The PD-L—headed by Emil Boc—has not settled on a candidate yet.

On Jul. 21, PSD spokesman Cristian Diaconescu urged the government to pick a date for the next legislative election or face a “political crisis”, saying, “The government is late with mapping out new electoral colleges. Any further delay will hinder the electoral process, that’s why it is important to have a clear date of the next general elections.”

On Aug. 13, Romanian lawmakers rejected a request by prosecutors to investigate allegations of corruption against former prime minister Adrian Nastase. The country’s prosecutors want to open several investigations for corruption against Nastase—who headed the government from December 2000 to December 2004—but their request for a probe needs to be approved by a majority in the legislature.

Ilie Sarbu, vice-president of Nastase’s opposition PSD, commented on the vote, saying, “This is the Parliament’s will, deputies labelled this case as a political one and they did not want to play the game of those who orchestrated it.”

On Oct. 28, Tariceanu warned of tough economic times ahead, saying, “Imagine that the global economy is like the Titanic, which hit the iceberg. At the lower levels, people are in water up to their necks, while on the upper floors the music still plays and people don’t know that the ship hit an iceberg and still listen to music. Those people are here, in Romania. That’s a lot like our situation.”

On Oct. 31, the legislative campaign officially began. The PSD’s Geoana—who has formed an alliance with the Conservative Party (PC)—claimed that the “road to victory” will begin in the municipality of Dabuleni. Boc assured that the PD-L would “guarantee (...) the application of the salary rise act.” Tariceanu dismissed the opposition’s proposals of pay increases.

Political Players

President: Traian Basescu - DA
Prime minister: Calin Popescu Tariceanu - DA

The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The Parlamentul Romaniei (Romanian Parliament) has two chambers. The Camera Deputatilor (Chamber of Deputies) has 332 members, elected to four-year terms; 314 members are elected by proportional representation and 18 members represent ethnic minorities. The Senatul (Senate) has 140 members, elected to four-year terms by proportional representation.

Results of Last Election:

President - Nov. 28 and Dec. 12, 2004.

Chamber of Deputies - Nov. 28, 2004

Senate - Nov. 28, 2004

Archive Search

Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Election Tracker archive.