Tight parliamentary race in Romania

01/12/2008

With none of the contenders securing a clear mandate, the weeks to come are likely to see intense negotiations on forming a new government.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest – 01/12/08

Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Mircea Geoana claimed victory on Sunday, but the race remains close and different governing scenarios are possible. [Getty Images]

Romanians went to the polls Sunday (November 30th) for the country's sixth parliamentary elections since the end of communism. They were the first elections under a uninominal system, in which voters could choose individual candidates instead of party slates.

As of Monday morning, preliminary results from the Central Elections Bureau showed the coalition of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Conservative Party (PC) regaining its lead over the Liberal Democrats (PDL). Earlier, the PDL had moved ahead by a tiny margin.

With 92.73% of the vote counted, the PSD-PC alliance had 33% of the vote, followed by the PDL with 32.57%. Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu's National Liberal Party (PNL) was third with 18.32%.

In the senate, the PSD-CP alliance had 33.99%, followed by the PDL with 33.79% and the PNL with 18.49%. The Democratic Union of Hungarians (UDMR), meanwhile, was expected to garner between 6.2% and 6.4% of the vote in the two chambers.

PSD leader Mircea Geoana claimed victory Sunday night, saying Romania had "delivered a message". He invited other parties to negotiations on forming a cabinet.

The elections occurred one day before Romania's national holiday, Union Day, and turnout was very low, at 39.26%. Many in the cities had left for a three-day holiday, which may have significantly cut participation. The new voting system does not allow for voting outside one's own electoral district.

Given the tight race, there is more than one possible scenario for the next government. The most plausible is an alliance between the PSD and the PNL, probably with Geoana as prime minister.

However, the PNL could decide to team up with the PDL, which is linked to President Traian Basescu. Former Interior Minister Vasile Blaga emerges as a possible prime minister in that scenario. Earlier collaboration between the two parties fell apart after a personal quarrel between Basescu and Tariceanu.

The least plausible option would be an alliance between the PSD and the PDL. The two parties are bitterly opposed, and former PSD chief Ion Iliescu has already ruled out the possibility.

The nationalist Greater Romania Party, meanwhile, failed to make it into parliament, falling short of the 5% threshold.