1992 Romanian general election
General elections were held in Romania on 27 September 1992, with a second round of the presidential election on 11 October. They were the first held after the adoption of a permanent constitution via a referendum held the previous winter.
Incumbent President Ion Iliescu led the field in the first round, but was forced into a run off with Emil Constantinescu, candidate of the oppositional Romanian Democratic Convention. Constantinescu ran on a quicker transition to a market economy and purging remaining communist influence from the government. He benefited from a marked downturn in Iliescu's popularity tied to both high unemployment and concerns that Iliescu was wavering in his commitment to democracy.
Despite this, opinion polls ahead of the runoff suggested that Iliescu was favoured for a second full term. Not only was it believed that his 16-point first-round lead was too large for Constantinescu to overcome, but most of the minor candidates were expected to eventually offer their support to Iliescu in the second round. In the end, Iliescu was reelected with 61 percent of the vote. The 1992 Romanian presidential election was the second of its kind held in post-1989 Romania.
In the parliamentary election, Iliescu's Democratic National Salvation Front, which had split off from the National Salvation Front earlier in the year, emerged as the largest party in Parliament, winning 117 of the 341 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 49 of the 143 seats in the Senate.
Presidential candidates
Participating candidates
| Name | Lifespan | Public Administration Experience | Affiliation and endorsements | Alma mater and profession | Candidacy Announcement dates |
Ion Iliescu | Born: 03.03.1930 Oltenița, Călărași County | President of Romania President of Water Surfaces Management Council Member of the State Council President of Iași County Council Vice-President of Timiș County Council Minister of Youth Deputy Former presidential election: 1990: 85.1% | Affiliation: FDSN | Energy Institute, Moscow State University fluid mechanics engineer, publishing house manager | |
Emil Constantinescu | Born: 19.11.1939 Tighina | Rector of University of Bucharest | Affiliation: CDR | Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest Faculty of Geology, University of Bucharest geology professor | |
Gheorghe Funar | Born: 29.09.1949 Sânnicolau Mare, Timiș County | Mayor of Cluj-Napoca | Affiliation: PUNR | Faculty of Economics and Business Management, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca economist | |
Caius Traian Dragomir | Born: 16.07.1939 Slatina, Olt County | State Secretary for Public Information with the Government of Romania | Affiliation: none Endorsed by: FSN | Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest physicist poet | |
Mircea Druc | Born: 25.07.1941 Pociumbăuți, Rîșcani District, Republic of Moldova | Prime Minister of the Moldavian SSR | Affiliation: none Endorsed by: MER | Faculty of History and Philology, Moldova State University, Chișinău Faculty of Philology, Saint Petersburg State University administrative sciences professor | |
Ioan Mânzatu | Born: 11.08.1932 Bobâlna, Cluj County | Vice-President of Romania | Affiliation: Republican Party | Faculty of Physics, Babeș-Bolyai University physics professor |
Withdrawn candidates
| Name | Lifespan | Public Administration Experience | Affiliation and endorsements | Alma mater and profession | Candidacy Announcement dates |
Ioan Lup | Affiliation: PNȚCD | Intention: 25 6 1992 Withdrawal: 25 6 1992 Endorsed Ion Rațiu: 25 6 1992 Endorsed Emil Constantinescu: 27 6 1992 | |||
Nicu Stăncescu | Affiliation: Party of Democratic Unity | Withdrawal: 27 6 1992 Endorsed Emil Constantinescu: 27 6 1992 | |||
Sergiu Cunescu | Born: 16.03.1923 , Bucharest Died: 16.03.2005 | Affiliation: PSDR | Faculty of Electromagnetics, Politehnica University of Bucharest combustion engine engineer | Withdrawal: 27 6 1992 Endorsed Emil Constantinescu: 27 6 1992 | |
Nicolae Manolescu | Born: 27.11.1939 Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County | Affiliation: Civic Alliance Party | Faculty of Philology, University of Bucharest writer, book critic | Withdrawal: 27 6 1992 Endorsed Emil Constantinescu: 27 6 1992 | |
Ion Rațiu | Born: 06.06.1917 , Turda, Cluj County Died: 17.01.2000, London | Chancellor at Romanian Embassy in UK | Affiliation: PNȚCD | Faculty of Law, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge lawyer, economist, journalist | Intention: 25 6 1992 Withdrawal: 27 6 1992 Endorsed Emil Constantinescu: 27 6 1992 |