Presidential elections in Romania 2009
Băsescu  |
Geoana  |
|---|---|
| 50.33% | 49.67% |
The 2009 presidential elections in Romania took place in late autumn. In the first round on November 22, incumbent Traian Băsescu from the middle-class PD-L and the social democrat Mircea Geoană won the most votes. However, both missed an absolute majority and faced each other in a runoff election on December 6th. In the first forecasts after the polls closed, Geoană was initially just ahead. The official final result, however, was a victory for Basescu, which won 50.33% of the vote. This allowed Traian Băsescu to continue to exercise his office. In the runoff election, around 58.0% of eligible voters cast their votes.
Suffrage
The President of Romania is determined directly by the people in a general and secret ballot. Every officially registered party has the right to nominate a candidate for election. Non-party applicants can also compete. Each candidate must have 200,000 electoral signatures to be eligible for election. A proposal by the Permanent Electoral Authority (Autoritatea Electorală Permanentă) to increase the number of required signatures or to require payment of a fee of 300,000 euros for candidacy was rejected as unconstitutional by the government and the incumbent president. The election must take place on a Sunday and the date must be announced by the government at least 45 days in advance.
The current incumbent Traian Băsescu was elected after the end of the five-year legislative period . Romanian citizens aged 18 and over are entitled to vote. The lower age limit for candidates is 35 years. If no candidate wins an absolute majority of the votes cast in the first ballot, the two best-placed candidates will compete against each other in a runoff two weeks later.
The office of president
The President of Romania is responsible for maintaining the functioning of the state institutions and has representative tasks. He has influence over the legislative and executive branches. The President is entitled to dissolve Parliament and, on the proposal of the Prime Minister, to dismiss members of the government - but not the Prime Minister himself. Laws passed by parliament are submitted to him for signature. In doing so, he can arrange for an examination by the Constitutional Court . He cannot introduce a legislative initiative himself. He names the Prime Minister and is responsible for filling numerous important offices, e.g. B. in the constitutional court. In terms of foreign policy, he can conclude international agreements. He performs diplomatic and representative tasks. In addition, he is the highest commander in command of the army and has emergency rights. In this context, he may issue ordinances, which, however, must be countersigned by the Prime Minister. The president can be removed from office with a two-thirds majority in parliament, but this must be confirmed by a referendum.
Starting position
2004 presidential elections
In the elections at the end of 2004, Traian Băsescu, the candidate of the bourgeois Partidul Democrat , narrowly prevailed in the runoff election (51.2 against 48.8%) and for most observers surprisingly against the Social Democrat Adrian Năstase after he won the first round of voting was still well behind.
Băsescu's term of office
Băsescu served as president from 2004, initially in agreement with the government of Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu ( PNL ). From 2005 onwards, the two politicians had a rift, which was expressed primarily in mutual allegations of corruption. On April 19, 2007, Băsescu was suspended from his post by his political opponents in parliament - above all the members of the PSD and PNL. However, a referendum had to decide on the final dismissal, in which on May 19, 2007 almost 75% of the electorate voted for Băsescu as president, who then took over the office again.
Economically, Băsescu's tenure was initially very successful; Between 2004 and 2008, starting from a very low level, the country mostly had the highest GDP growth rates in the European Union, which Romania was able to join on January 1, 2007 (as did Bulgaria; the EU grew from 25 to 27 members; details here ). From autumn 2008 to around mid-2010, Romania was hit harder by the international economic crisis than many other countries . In particular, the state institutions with their high workforce ran into financial difficulties; Romania received loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to keep it liquid. The IMF loan commitments were linked to savings commitments; the state-owned companies had to lay off employees, cut wages or ordered unpaid compulsory leave. From September 2009 this led to protests by the workers concerned.
Political crisis in Romania in the run-up to the presidential elections
After the parliamentary elections in 2008 , the Băsescu-related PD-L and the PSD worked together in a kind of grand coalition led by Prime Minister Emil Boc (PD-L). However, government work has been characterized from the start by persistent disputes between the two parties. These conflicts intensified when, at the end of September 2009, the PSD Interior Minister Dan Nica accused the PD-L of preparing large-scale electoral fraud. Numerous buses were hired for election day to enable Băsescu voters to cast their votes multiple times. Prime Minister Boc rejected this and asked Băsescu to dismiss Nica. For its part, the PSD saw Boc's move as a move to get the Ministry of the Interior into the hands of the PD-L, which made the planned election fraud easier for this party. On October 1, Băsescu signed Nica's dismissal, which led to the resignation of all other PSD ministers and thus to the end of the government coalition. After that, the PD-L ruled briefly in a minority government. Boc and the PD-L tried to get a parliamentary majority with the help of the UDMR, with other MPs from smaller ethnic minorities and with defectors from PNL and PSD. However, the PNL and the UDMR initiated a vote of no confidence, which was supported by the PSD and approved on October 13, 2009 with 254 of 471 votes; 236 votes would have been required. The Boc government was only executive in office. The PSD and PNL were now planning to set up a technocratic cabinet until the presidential elections were held , headed by the Transylvanian German Mayor of Sibiu, Klaus Johannis . President Băsescu rejected the proposal and nominated the financial expert Lucian Croitoru as prime minister on October 15th , who was only supported by the PD-L and rejected by parliament on November 4th. On November 6th, Băsescu proposed the Bucharest district mayor Liviu Negoiță (PD-L) as prime minister. He also had no chance of being confirmed by parliament, and there was no vote.
Candidates
The Central Electoral Office accepted twelve candidates a month before the election.
Traian Băsescu
The previous incumbent Traian Băsescu did not decide for a long time whether he would like to run again. He had stated several times that he would be able to forego re-election in the event of increasing economic problems. On October 3, he officially announced his candidacy. He had the Partidul Democrat Liberal behind him, which had emerged from the Partidul Democrat .
The popularity of Băsescu, who was undisputedly the most popular politician in the country for several years, fell significantly in the months before the election, which was also reflected in the opinion polls. Romanian journalists blamed various factors for this. In the perception of the population, neither Băsescu nor his party, which is in charge of government, could prevent Romania from being severely affected by the international economic crisis. Băsescu also lost credibility due to the European election campaign of his daughter Elena Băsescu, who was considered politically inexperienced . At the end of August 2009 it became known that a brother of Băsescu's had contacts with the armaments lobby.
Mircea Geoana
The chairman of the Partidul Social Democrat (PSD), Mircea Geoană , announced his candidacy on May 14, 2009 during the presentation of the candidates for the European elections . After long arguments with ex-president and PSD honorary chairman Ion Iliescu , he officially supported Geoană's candidacy. Nevertheless, Romanian journalists suspected that Iliescu might be supporting the independent Sorin Oprescu behind Geoană's back .
To counteract this impression, Geoană had his party again proclaim himself a candidate on October 2. The core of his election campaign were anti-Băsescu slogans.
Crin Antonescu
The Partidul Național Liberal (PNL, National Liberal Party ) supported Traian Băsescu in the 2004 presidential election. In the years 2005 to 2007, however, there was a rift between Băsescu and the then Prime Minister and PNL chairman Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu . After the parliamentary elections in 2008 , which were unsatisfactory for the PNL, Popescu-Tăriceanu was replaced in the party chairmanship by his party opponent Crin Antonescu . This proclaimed an independent policy, independent of PD-L and PSD, and declared his candidacy for the presidency at an early stage.
On October 16, 2009, Antonescu announced in a press conference held in Iași that he would appoint the Transylvanian German Mayor of Sibiu , Klaus Johannis , head of government if he was elected president.
Antonescu's candidacy was supported by prominent representatives of Romanian civil society , such as the anti-communist dissident Doina Cornea , the siblings of the former head of the Romanian opposition, Corneliu Coposu , the historians Lucian Boia and Neagu Djuvara and the Mayor of Timișoaras , Gheorghe Ciuhandu .
Sorin Oprescu
The independent Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu was a member of the PSD until 2008. He resigned from the party after it was not nominated as a candidate for the office of Bucharest mayor. He then won the election as an independent candidate. Oprescu was one of the most popular politicians in Romania. Some Romanian journalists initially saw him as the only promising challenger to President Băsescu. There was speculation in the Romanian press that Oprescu could become the joint PSD and PNL candidate. Opresecu himself announced his candidacy on October 5th after a long period of hesitation. He ran as an independent without the support of a party and complained about the country's political culture, which had led to various divisions in society. As president he wanted to work for the internal unity of the country and a national reconciliation.
Corneliu Vadim Tudor
The chairman of the Partidul România Mare (PRM, Greater Romania Party ), Corneliu Vadim Tudor , is known in Western Europe for making extremist statements directed against various minorities. He regularly ran for president in previous elections; in 2000 he even reached second place with 28% and got into the runoff, in which he was defeated by 33% of the vote against Ion Iliescu . In recent years, however, the election results of the party and of Tudor personally have declined, even if the PRM managed to get into the European Parliament in June 2009.
Tudor announced in August 2009 that he would definitely support the opponent Traian Băsescus in the runoff election if he himself does not make it into the second round.
At the beginning of September, Tudor had his party propose to combine the presidential election with a referendum in which the autonomy of the Szeklerland , desired by many ethnic Hungarians , should be decided. With the majority of ethnic Romanians rejecting such autonomy, the outcome would have been predictable. With this topic Tudor wanted to distinguish itself in the election campaign.
George Becali
The chairman of the PNG-CD , George Becali , is one of the richest people in Romania and has so far mainly attracted attention with anti-minority statements. He officially announced his candidacy on October 3rd; his election slogan was "Faith, Trust and Love". Becali has good contacts with the Romanian Orthodox Church . He promised that Romania - which was now a "barbaric" country - would develop into a country "loved by God" within ten years of his presidency. Becali said he was “a lot stronger than the other candidates” and was confident that he would win the election.
Hunor Kelemen
The Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România (UDMR, Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania ) entered the election without a chance, as it is practically exclusively elected by members of the Hungarian minority in Romania - that is, by 5–10 percent of the population. They named their managing director Hunor Kelemen as a candidate.
Remus Cernea
Remus Cernea was the candidate of the Partidul Verde ( Green Party ), which has so far been rather insignificant in Romania . He is known in Romania as an activist for a strict separation of the state and the Romanian Orthodox Church . Cernea wanted to fight against widespread prejudice in the country and caused a sensation because of its statement that Romania will only become a truly free and democratic country if it is in a position to have a “female, lesbian, atheist, Roma minority president " to choose.
Ovidiu Iane
The economist Ovidiu Iane stood for the small Partidul Ecologist Român ("Romanian Ecologist Party"). He promised large-scale investments in organic agriculture and renewable energies.
Constantin Ninel Potirca
The businessman Constantin Ninel Potîrcă belongs to the Roma minority . After 1989 he became wealthy by trading in scrap metals. Potîrcă wanted to represent the interests of all Romanians, but above all hoped for the votes of the Roma.
Constantin Rotaru
The economist Constantin Rotaru was a member of the Romanian Communist Party before 1989 and a member of the Romanian Parliament from 1992 to 1996. He is chairman of the Socialist Alliance Party , a member of the European Left Party . Rotaru wanted to offer a left alternative to the capitalist system, which he blamed for the poor economic situation and corruption in Romania.
Eduard Manole
The nuclear physicist and businessman Eduard Manole applied for president in 2000 without success.
Withdrawn or rejected candidacies
Nati Meir
Nati Meir is a Jew born in Haifa in 1955 , whose parents came from Romania. In recent years he has been a member of various parties, after Corneliu Vadim Tudor's announced change from anti-Semite to philosemite, even from his extremist Partidul România Mare . He saw himself as "Obama of Romania"; Just as a Black could be President of America, so too could he, as a Jew, become President of Romania. All polls saw him with a maximum of 1% of the vote. On October 14, Meir announced his withdrawal from the candidacy, citing his disappointment with the current political situation in Romania.
Radu Duda
Radu Duda is married to Margarita von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and thus the son-in-law of the last Romanian King Michael I. He bears the in-house title “Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen”. He announced his candidacy on April 9, 2009 at a press conference. Other members of the royal family were cautious about Duda's decision. He was seen by some observers of the Romanian political scene as an extension of the Rompetrol boss Dinu Patriciu . After opinion polls gave him no chance of reaching the second ballot, Duda withdrew his candidacy on September 2 on the grounds that he did not want to take part in a "clan battle".
Miron Cozma
Miron Cozma was the leader of the " Mineriaden ", ie the riots in which miners from the Shil Valley moved to Bucharest in 1991 to assault demonstrators of President Ion Iliescu . He then spent eight years in prison. When he presented his candidacy on June 18, 2009, he announced that if he was elected, the previous presidents Ion Iliescu, Emil Constantinescu and Traian Băsescu would be brought to justice because they were “murderers” and “genocide”. In September Cozma gave up his candidacy and expressed his support for Sorin Oprescu.
Ioan Talpeș
Ioan Talpeș was an advisor to President Ion Iliescu and from 1992 to 1997 head of the Romanian foreign intelligence service SIE. He ran for the PD-L in the 2008 parliamentary elections , but now wanted to run as an independent. He withdrew from running in October after feeling ignored by the country's media.
Ion Coja
Ion Coja is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Bucharest. He denies the Romanian participation in the Holocaust and fights against what he believes is Jewish infiltration of Romanian society. His candidacy was rejected by the electoral authority because he was unable to provide the required number of supporting signatures.
Election campaign
Issues discussed controversially could not be identified. Even so, the election campaign was extremely aggressive, especially before the decisive second round. At first sight, it was primarily about the personal integrity of the candidates, which also included their private lives. The incumbent President Băsescu was said to have a personal relationship with the Minister of Tourism, Elena Udrea, who was unpopular among the population . The main candidates accused each other of being responsible for the mafia-like structures in Romanian society. While the opponents accused Băsescu of an authoritarian style, this referred to his opponent Geoană as a stooge of corrupt media and business entrepreneurs.
At the beginning of September, accusations of racism were raised against PD-L Vice President and Băsescu supporter Gheorghe Flutur, who said that PNL candidate Crin Antonescu had no chance and could not be compared with US President Obama, “even if he stays in the sun for weeks ". Antonescu also had to be accused by representatives of the PD-L that he did not have a car driver's license and therefore could not run the country. Antonescu, for his part, compared Băsescu with the communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu . His party vice-president Ludovic Orban said Băsescu was elected by "gypsies, alcoholics and prostitutes"; Antonescu distanced himself from this statement.
The circumstances of two trips by Mircea Geoană to Russia in the course of 2009, which he had initially kept secret, were discussed. Traian Băsescu claimed in this connection that Geoană had made economic commitments in Russia and received political support from Russia for the election. Băsescu himself came under pressure over publications by a former public prosecutor who accused him in a book of being involved in the 2006 escape from the country by Syrian-Romanian businessman Omar Hayssam. Hayssam is said to have organized the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Iraq in 2005.
At the initiative of President Băsescu, a referendum took place at the same time as the first round of the presidential elections, in which a decision was made to introduce a unicameral parliament and to reduce the number of members of parliament. Băsescu pushed through the referendum against the will of the parliamentary majority. His proposal was interpreted by his political opponents as a populist attempt to influence the pre-election sentiment in his favor.
In contrast to previous elections, the issue of the entanglement of candidates in the activities of the former communist secret service Securitate did not play a role. According to the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives , none of the twelve candidates worked with the Securitate.
In the run-up to the elections, an association of 14 media companies asked candidates to sign a declaration guaranteeing that they would respect the right to freedom of expression. Nine candidates signed; Tudor, Becali and Manole refused.
Before the first ballot, three television debates of the three most promising candidates (Băsescu, Geoană and Antonescu) should take place. Only Băsescu and Antonescu took part in the first on November 14th in Cluj-Napoca ; Geoană declined the invitation. According to journalists, Băsescu and Antonescu could not gain a clear advantage over their opponent. The second on November 18 in Bucharest failed at short notice because the most promising candidates could not agree on the format of the program, in particular the participation of Tudor and Becali. Finally, on November 20, a debate took place between Băsescu, Geoană and Antonescu. According to analysts, none of the three stood out that much; the effect on any voters who were still undecided was rated as minor. Before the runoff election, Băsescu and Geoană competed against each other in another televised debate on December 3. Most journalists did not see a clear winner here either.
A few days after the first ballot, the Gardianul newspaper published a video showing Băsescu slapping a child in the face during an election campaign in 2004 - who had provoked him. Băsescu described the video as a deliberate forgery and presented an expert opinion that should prove this.
Opinion polls
The opinion polls with regard to voting intentions were carried out at irregular intervals by various nominally independent polling institutes . The " Sunday question ", which is also known in Germany and Austria, was usually asked. However, observers in Romania believe that some of the polls are used specifically to influence political sentiment. Usually the respective client of a survey scores better than other surveys.
The surveys were initially inconsistent because the exact list of candidates had not yet been determined. For a long time it was unclear whether the PNG-CD chairman George Becali and the Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu would stand .
According to opinion polls, it had been assumed for a long time that no candidate would achieve an absolute majority in the first ballot. Individual surveys therefore already asked the opinion of voters for the runoff election.
Opinion polls for the first round of voting
| date | Institute | Băsescu | Geoana | Antonescu | Oprescu | Tudor | Becali | Kelemen | Meir | You there |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 27, 2009 | CSOP | 40 | 19th | 15th | 8th | 5 | 7th | - | - | 4th |
| 31.5.09 | INSOMAR | 38 | 24 | 16 | - | 7th | - | - | - | 4th |
| 28.6.09 | INCOR | 36 | 24 | 19th | - | 11 | - | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 7/22/09 | CSOP | 35 | 19th | 15th | 7th | 7th | 9 | 4th | - | 4th |
| 3.8.09 | CSOP | 35 | 21st | 15th | 11 | 12 | - | 5 | - | 3 |
| 8/27/09 | BCS | 30th | 19th | 20th | 8th | 7th | 4th | 4th | 0 | 5 |
| 19.9.09 | CCSB | 34 | 18th | 19th | 12 | 7th | 8th | 1 | 0 | - |
| 10/3/09 | CCSB | 31 | 20th | 18th | 14th | 8th | 6th | 2 | 0 | - |
| 7.10.09 | CSOP | 37 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 7th | 5 | 4th | - | - |
| 10/11/09 | INSOMAR | 33 | 29 | 15th | 8th | 6th | 5 | 4th | - | - |
| 10/20/09 | INSOMAR | 29 | 30th | 20th | 7th | 7th | 3 | 4th | - | - |
| 1.11.09 | INSOMAR | 30th | 32 | 19th | 6th | 7th | 2 | 3 | - | - |
| 3.11.09 | CCSB | 34 | 30th | 18th | 14th | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 11/9/09 | INSOMAR | 31 | 32 | 18th | 5 | 6th | - | 5 | - | - |
| 11/11/09 | CCSB | 34 | 31 | 16 | 10 | 4th | 2 | 3 | - | - |
| 11/12/09 | CURS | 33 | 30th | 18th | 6th | 5 | 3 | 4th | - | - |
Opinion polls for the second ballot
| date | Institute | Băsescu | Geoana | Băsescu | Antonescu | Băsescu | Oprescu | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28.6.09 | INCOR | 52 | 48 | 53 | 47 | - | - | ||
| 7/27/09 | CCSB | 53 | 47 | 55 | 45 | - | - | ||
| 10/3/09 | CCSB | 47 | 53 | 46 | 54 | 43 | 57 | ||
| 7.10.09 | CSOP | 53 | 47 | 57 | 43 | 52 | 48 | ||
| 10/20/09 | INSOMAR | 46 | 54 | 47 | 53 | 48 | 52 | ||
| 1.11.09 | INSOMAR | 47 | 53 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.11.09 | CCSB | 46 | 54 | 49 | 51 | 49 | 51 | ||
| 11/9/09 | INSOMAR | 47 | 53 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 11/11/09 | CCSB | 48 | 52 | 50 | 50 | 49 | 51 | ||
| 11/12/09 | CURS | 49 | 51 | 50 | 50 | - | - | ||
| 1.12.09 | INSOMAR | 46 | 54 |
Election process
The elections were organized by the Biroul Electoral Central . It includes members of the most important parties. Among other things, it should help prevent election fraud. In previous elections, the larger parties often accused themselves of various irregularities. Above all, supporters of some parties are said to have cast their votes several times in different polling stations, but this has never been proven. A 25-member OSCE delegation observed the election process.
On election days, the 21,412 polling stations in Romania were open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time. It was only possible to vote directly; there was no postal vote. There were 294 polling stations for Romanians living abroad, most of them in Italy and Spain, but also five in Germany, three in Austria and two in Switzerland. Approximately 18.35 million people were eligible to vote.
First ballot
In the first ballot, Traian Băsescu and Mircea Geoană were able to achieve the most votes without reaching an absolute majority. A runoff election on December 6, 2009 was necessary.
Crin Antonescu from the National Liberal Party , who also had hopes of winning the election, was clearly lagging behind in third place in the first ballot. All other of the twelve candidates each achieved less than six percent. The turnout in the first round was around 54.4%, the lowest since the Romanian Revolution in 1989 .
| candidate | Political party | Number of votes | percent |
| Traian Băsescu | PD-L | 3,153,640 | 32.4 |
| Mircea Geoana | Psd | 3,027,838 | 31.2 |
| Crin Antonescu | PNL | 1,945,831 | 20.0 |
| Corneliu Vadim Tudor | PRM | 540,380 | 5.6 |
| Hunor Kelemen | UDMR | 372.764 | 3.8 |
| Sorin Oprescu | independent | 309.764 | 3.2 |
| George Becali | PNG CD | 186,390 | 1.9 |
| Remus Cernea | PV | 60,539 | 0.6 |
| Constantin Rotaru | PAS | 43,684 | 0.4 |
| Eduard Manole | independent | 34,189 | 0.4 |
| Ovidiu Iane | BY | 22,515 | 0.2 |
| Constantin Ninel Potirca | independent | 21.306 | 0.2 |
| total | 9,718,840 | 100.0 |
After the first ballot
After Băsescu and Geoană had qualified for the runoff election, both naturally tried to attract as many voters from the eliminated candidates as possible to their side. Of particular importance were the votes of third-placed Crin Antonescu. Antonescu immediately ruled out a collaboration with Băsescu and let his party transfer a mandate for negotiations with Geoană and his party PSD. An agreement was signed that secured Geoana support from Antonescu and the PNL. The UDMR also planned to collaborate with the PNL and thus indirectly support Geoană. The aim of the agreement between PSD, PNL and UDMR was to elect the Transylvanian German mayor of Sibiu, Klaus Johannis , as prime minister after a possible election victory for Geoană . Geoană also signed a support agreement with the parliamentary group of national minorities. The Socialist Alliance Party of Constantin Rotaru and the Roma party also called for the election of Geoană. On the other hand, Florin Cioabă , the influential self-proclaimed "King of the Roma", spoke out for Băsescu. The Hungarian-born pastor and revolutionary from 1989 , László Tőkés , announced that he would vote for Băsescu because he was "the lesser of two evils". Băsescu also supported the small, national-Hungarian PCM party . Parts of the PRM want to support Geoană, while chairman Tudor initially called for a boycott of the runoff election. Just one day before the runoff election, Tudor announced that it would vote for Geoană. A week earlier, George Becali and his party had declared their "unconditional support" for Geoanăs. The popular Mayor of Timișoara , Gheorghe Ciuhandu , also sided with Geoană, claiming that every vote for Băsescu was a “vote for communism”. Băsescu was thus largely isolated in the country's political scene. However, he tried to take advantage of this fact by declaring "the Romanian people" rather than politicians to be his ally.
Second ballot
In the second ballot, Traian Băsescu was able to prevail extremely narrowly against Mircea Geoană. Geoană gained more votes than Băsescu in Romania. Ultimately, it was the votes of the Romanians living abroad who voted for Băsescu with a large majority.
The fact that Băsescu won the runoff election despite the broad political alliance against him is mainly due to the fact that many voters did not follow the recommendations of the candidates who were eliminated in the first round. The citizens of the Harghita and Covasna districts, which are mainly inhabited by ethnic Hungarians, voted with a clear majority for Băsescu, even though the Hungarian UDMR party had advocated Geoană.
| candidate | Political party | Number of votes | percent |
| Traian Băsescu | PD-L | 5,275,808 | 50.3 |
| Mircea Geoana | Psd | 5,205,760 | 49.7 |
| total | 10,481,568 | 100.0 |
Allegations of manipulation and legal consequences
Recurring allegations of fraud were mainly based on the fact that, according to Romanian suffrage, it is possible to vote in special polling stations outside of the place of residence when traveling within the country. In the past and also during this election, local branches of various parties are said to have organized a large number of buses or other vehicles in order to enable their own supporters to vote multiple times. That is why the police operated numerous checkpoints on election days.
A few days before the first round, the Internet news magazine Hotnews.ro published covert research. Accordingly, mayors of smaller rural communities tried to buy votes for their party's candidate through gifts of money or in kind and to have voters drive their cars to the polling stations.
After the first round of voting, the Ministry of the Interior received a total of 1,300 information about irregularities and 106 fraud reports; after the second there were 200 irregularities. After both rounds, the OSCE Commission stated that the election process largely complied with international standards. However, the problems with the special polling stations were explicitly mentioned. Some private broadcasters reported negatively about Traian Băsescu in the run-up to the election, thereby violating the principle of neutrality.
After the runoff election, the Social Democrats decided to take legal action against the result and justified this with organized electoral fraud by the supporters of Băsescu. On December 11, the Constitutional Court ruled that the approximately 138,000 invalidated votes must be counted again. There was no significant change in the previously announced results. The Constitutional Court rejected the PSD's call for the election to be canceled on December 15. On December 16, 2009, the constitutional court officially declared Băsescu the election winner, and the swearing-in took place on December 22nd.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Central Election Office of December 9, 2009, accessed on December 10, 2009 ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Law No. 370 on the election of the President of Romania of September 20, 2004, accessed on July 30, 2009 (PDF; 416 kB)
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of August 12, 2009, accessed on August 15, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Constitution of Romania , Articles 36 and 37
- ^ Eva Lahnsteiner: The Romanian Political System Publication by the University of Graz, 2005
- ↑ Document from the Central Election Office in Romania, accessed on July 26, 2009 ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 304 kB)
- ↑ Germany Trade & Invest of March 6, 2009, accessed on October 2, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Website of Radio Romania International ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (September 30, 2009, accessed October 2, 2009)
- ↑ ADZ.ro of September 29, 2009, accessed on September 29, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, September 28, 2009 , accessed September 29, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of October 1, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 1, 2009
- ↑ EVZ.ro of October 13, 2009, accessed on October 13, 2009
- ↑ EVZ.ro of November 4, 2009, accessed on November 4, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 6, 2009, accessed on November 6, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of August 5, 2009, accessed on August 5, 2009 ( Memento of the original of August 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of October 3, 2009, accessed on October 3, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ tagesschau.de from June 8, 2009, accessed on August 30, 2009 ( Memento from June 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Bucharest Herald, August 21, 2009, accessed on August 23, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ ADZ.ro of May 16, 2009, accessed on July 25, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ ADZ.ro from September 18, 2009, accessed on September 25, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, October 2, 2009, accessed October 2, 2009
- ↑ Mediafax.ro, August 16, 2009, accessed October 27, 2009
- ↑ http://www.evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/870186/Doina-Cornea-il-sustine-pe-Crin-Antonescu/
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from December 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ziare.com, August 1, 2009, accessed August 15, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of October 5, 2009, accessed on October 5, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of August 7, 2009, accessed on August 7, 2009 ( Memento of the original of August 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, September 7, 2009, accessed September 7, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of October 3, 2009, accessed on October 4, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of September 1, 2009, accessed on September 1, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Lavinia Stan, Lucian Turcescu: Religion and politics in post-communist Romania . Oxford University Press, 2007. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-19-530853-2
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of October 27, 2009, accessed on October 29, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ EVZ.ro of October 22, 2009, accessed on October 28, 2009
- ↑ Realitatea.net, October 27, 2009, accessed October 28, 2009
- ↑ Socialistul.ro of April 21, 2009, accessed on October 28, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of June 12, 2009, accessed on July 25, 2009 ( Memento of the original of June 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Antena3.ro of October 15, 2009, accessed October 15, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, April 9, 2009, accessed July 25, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of September 2, 2009, accessed on September 2, 2009 ( Memento of the original of September 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of June 19, 2009, accessed on July 25, 2009 ( Memento of the original of June 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ ziare.com, September 23, 2009, accessed October 27, 2009
- ↑ Ziua.ro, September 5, 2009, accessed September 5, 2009
- ↑ inpolitics.ro of October 20, 2009, accessed on October 27, 2009 ( Memento of the original of October 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ haGalil from April 2005, accessed on July 25, 2009
- ↑ Document of the Central Election Office of October 23, 2009, accessed on October 28, 2009 ( Memento of the original of December 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 315 kB)
- ↑ Standard.at of December 3, 2009, accessed on December 4, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald, August 18, 2009, accessed on August 23, 2009 ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald, October 10, 2009, accessed on October 10, 2009 ( Memento of the original of October 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ziua.ro, November 26, 2009, accessed December 4, 2009
- ↑ "Candidatul PNL rămâne fără şanse şi nu poate fi Obama chiar dacă ar sta la soare câteva săptămâni" Realitatea.net of September 5, 2009, accessed on September 7, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of October 23, 2009, accessed on October 27, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 6th, 2009, accessed on November 8th, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Realitatea.net, November 8, 2009, accessed November 8, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 19, 2009, accessed on November 19, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 30, 2009, accessed on November 30, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 16, 2009, accessed on November 19, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of September 24, 2009, accessed on September 25, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 5, 2009, accessed on November 6, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, November 18, 2009, accessed November 19, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 15, 2009, accessed on November 15, 2009 ( Memento of the original of November 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 18, 2009, accessed on November 18, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, November 20, 2009, accessed November 20, 2009
- ↑ Mediafax.ro, December 3, 2009, accessed December 4, 2009
- ↑ ADZ.ro from December 4, 2009, accessed on December 4, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b ADZ.ro, May 7, 2009, accessed on July 26, 2009
- ↑ ADZ.ro, June 3, 2009, accessed July 26, 2009
- ↑ a b ADZ.ro, July 4, 2009, accessed on July 26, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of July 26th, 2009, accessed on July 26th, 2009 ( Memento of the original of July 29th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ziua.ro, August 12, 2009, accessed August 12, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro from September 1, 2009, accessed on September 1, 2009 (PDF; 435 kB)
- ↑ Politico.ro from September 22, 2009, accessed on September 22, 2009 ( Memento of the original from September 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Cotidianul.ro, October 5, 2009, accessed October 6, 2009
- ↑ a b Cotidianul.ro of October 12, 2009, accessed October 12, 2009
- ↑ EVZ.ro of October 16, 2009, accessed on October 16, 2009
- ↑ a b EVZ.ro of October 20, 2009, accessed on October 21, 2009
- ↑ a b Realitatea.net of November 2, 2009, accessed November 2, 2009
- ↑ a b Ziarul Faclia of November 9, 2009, accessed on November 11, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Realitatea.net of November 10, 2009, accessed November 12, 2009
- ↑ a b Jurnalul.ro of November 14, 2009, accessed on November 15, 2009
- ↑ a b EVZ.ro dated November 18, 2009, accessed on November 18, 2009 ( memento of the original dated November 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ ziare.com July 31, 2009, accessed on 31 July 2009
- ↑ Realitatea.tv of December 1, 2009, accessed on December 1, 2009
- ↑ Standard.at of October 1, 2009, accessed October 30, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, October 28, 2009, accessed October 30, 2009
- ↑ Document of the Romanian electoral authority, accessed on November 12, 2009 ( Memento of the original of November 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Document of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed on October 30, 2009 ( Memento of the original of November 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Document of the Central Election Office, accessed on November 21, 2009 ( Memento of the original of November 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 86 kB)
- ↑ Central Election Office from November 25, 2009, accessed on November 25, 2009 ( Memento of the original from December 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 143 kB)
- ↑ Standard.at of November 25, 2009, accessed on November 25, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 24, 2009, accessed on November 24, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of November 29, 2009, accessed on November 29, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Hotnews.ro of November 26, 2009, accessed November 26, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of December 2, 2009, accessed on December 3, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Gandul.info of December 5, 2009, accessed December 6, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, November 28, 2009, accessed November 28, 2009
- ↑ Bucharest Herald of December 1, 2009, accessed on December 1, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ ADZ.ro of November 25, 2009, accessed on November 29, 2009
- ↑ Standard.at of November 22, 2009, accessed on November 22, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, November 20, 2009, accessed November 20, 2009
- ↑ a b Standard.at of December 7, 2009, accessed December 7, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, November 23, 2009, accessed November 23, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, December 7, 2009, accessed December 7, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, November 23, 2009, accessed November 23, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, December 11, 2009, accessed December 11, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, December 15, 2009, accessed December 15, 2009
- ↑ Hotnews.ro, December 16, 2009, accessed December 16, 2009
