Romania holds first EP elections; low turnout invalidates election referendum

26/11/2007

President Traian Basescu's Democrats won Sunday's vote for European Parliament, but a proposal to establish a uninominal voting system appears to have failed.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest -- 26/11/07

Democratic Party (PD) President Emil Boc (right), Bucharest Mayor Adriean Videanu (left) and other members of the party celebrate at PD headquarters after Sunday's vote. [Getty Images]

Romanians went to the polls Sunday (November 25th) to elect their representatives to the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg. Thirteen political parties and one independent candidate competed in the first European elections. Romanian only joined the EU in January.

In parallel, citizens voted in a national referendum on President Traian Basescu's proposal for a uninominal voting system. The results, however, will likely be invalidated due to low turnout.

According to preliminary results, Basescu's Democratic Party won the EP vote, with 29.23% of the vote. The Social Democrats were second, with 21.65%, while Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu's National Liberal Party trails with just over 13%. Major losses were suffered by the ultranationalist Greater Romania Party (PRM), which until now had held five of Romania's 35 EP seats. It got only 3% of the vote and may no longer be represented.

PRM leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor has already announced his resignation from the Romanian Parliament. He urged his party colleagues to do the same.

In the parallel referendum, 82.9% of Romanians said "yes" to Basescu's new system. But turnout, estimated at 25.5%, was well below the required 50% threshold and the results will not stand.

Basescu had proposed allowing Romanians to elect individual candidates directly, instead of through party lists, and establishing a majority voting system in place of the current proportional one. The new system, which would also reduce the number of MPs by about 20%, mirrors the two-round election system used in France and could lead to the formation of stronger governments.

An alternate proposal put forward by Tariceanu would establish a mixed-member proportional system, based on the German electoral system.

"The referendum represents a lesson even for me, but I won't stop believing and saying Romanians want the reformation of the political class," Basescu said in a speech Sunday, acknowledging defeat. He said he should have dedicated more time to explaining the importance of the uninominal vote.