2004 Romanian general election
General elections were held in Romania on 28 November 2004, with a second round of the presidential elections on 12 December between former Prime Minister Adrian Năstase of the then ruling Democratic Party (Romania)|Social Democratic Party] and then incumbent Bucharest Mayor Traian Băsescu of the opposition Justice and Truth Alliance, more specifically of the Democratic Party. Băsescu was elected President by a narrow majority of just 51.2%. The 2004 presidential election was the fifth of its kind held in post-1989 Romania.
Following 2003 amendments to the constitution which lengthened the presidential term to five years, these were the last joint elections to the presidency and Parliament in Romania's political history thus far.
Campaign
Parliamentary elections
The main contenders were the left-wing alliance made up of the then incumbent Social Democratic Party of Romania and the Romanian Humanist Party, and, on the other hand, the center-right Justice and Truth Alliance comprising the conservative-liberal National Liberal Party and the initially social-democratic Democratic Party which later adopted a center-right Christian democratic ideology.Other significant contenders were the Greater Romania Party , the ethnic Hungarian party Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, and the Union for Romanian Reconstruction, a group of right-wing technocrats.
Conduct
The opposition alleged fraudulent use by the PSD of "supplementary lists", designed to help Romanians in transit to vote. Traditionally, Romanians voted with a cardboard identity card, which was stamped when they voted. Most Romanians now have laminated plastic IDs, to which a printed stamp is affixed when a person votes. However, the stamps can be easily removed. In spite of this, electoral fraud is nearly impossible to commit, as every citizen is assigned to one local voting station, the only location he/she can vote at.The opposition claimed that there were organized "electoral excursions" of PSD supporters who were bussed to various towns to vote several times. This was corroborated by several teams of journalists, who followed the buses.
The government attacked the opposition by arguing that 'rumours of fraud' affect Romania's economy and its external credibility.
In January 2005, the IMAS institute of statistics released an analysis of the voting results in the 16,824 precincts. In the top 1,000 precincts with the most votes on the supplementary lists, the PSD had 43% to the DA's 23%, while in the precincts with fewest votes on supplementary lists, the PSD had 30% to the DA's 34%. The same trend was true in the precincts with most void votes.
Presidential candidates
| Name | Lifespan | Public Administration Experience | Affiliation and endorsements | Alma mater and profession | Candidacy Announcement dates |
Traian Băsescu | Born: Basarabi, Constanța County | Mayor of Bucharest Deputy Minister of Transport Sub-Secretary of State for Naval Transportation with the Ministry of Transport Director of Civil Navigation Inspectorate with the Ministry of Transport | Affiliation: Justice and Truth Alliance Alliance members: PNL and PD | Mircea cel Bătrân Naval Academy seaman | |
Adrian Năstase | Born: Bucharest | Prime Minister of Romania Deputy President of the [Chamber of Deputies of Romania|President of the Chamber of Deputies] Minister of Foreign Affairs | Affiliation: National Union PSD+PUR Alliance members: PSD and PUR | Faculty of Sociology, University of Bucharest Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest jurist | |
Corneliu Vadim Tudor | Born: Bucharest Died:, Bucharest | Senator Former presidential elections: 2000: 28.3%, 33.2% 1996: 4.7% | Affiliation: PRM | Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest journalist, writer | |
Béla Markó | Born: Târgu Secuiesc, Covasna County | Senator | Affiliation: UDMR | Faculty of Philology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca journalist, poet | |
Gheorghe Ciuhandu | Born: Timișoara, Timiș County | Mayor of Timișoara | Affiliation: PNȚCD | Faculty of Constructions, Politehnica University of Timișoara building engineer | |
Gigi Becali | Born: Vădeni, Brăila County | Affiliation: New [Generation Party (Romania)|PNG] | "Iuliu Maniu" High-school, Bucharest shepherd, football club owner | ||
Petre Roman | Born: Bucharest | Senator Minister of Foreign Affairs President of the Senate of Romania Deputy Prime Minister of Romania Former presidential elections: 2000: 3.0% 1996: 20.5% | Affiliation: Democratic Force | Faculty of Energy, Politehnica University of Bucharest hydroelectric powerplant engineer | |
Gheorghe Dinu | Born: unknown birthdate unknown birthplace | Affiliation: none | unknown education intelligence officer | ||
Marian Petre Miluț | Born: Craiova, Dolj County | Affiliation: People's Action | Faculty of Automation, Computers and Electronics, University of Craiova IT engineer | ||
Ovidiu Tudorici | Born: Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Suceava County | Deputy Mayor of Câmpulung Moldovenesc | Affiliation: Union for Romania's Reconstruction | Faculty of Law, Petre Andrei University of Iași salesman, marketing specialist | |
Aurel Rădulescu | Born: Adamclisi, Constanța County | Affiliation: Christian Democratic People's Alliance | Faculty of Law and Faculty of Theology, unknown universities priest | ||
Raj Tunaru | Born: Țânțăreni, Gorj County | Affiliation: Democratic Youth Party | University of Petroșani mining engineer |
Results
President
Corneliu Vadim Tudor positioned himself against Băsescu, without openly endorsing Năstase. Marko Bela openly endorsed Adrian Năstase. Gheorghe Ciuhandu openly endorsed Băsescu.Both Băsescu and Năstase came from left-wing parties that were members of Socialist International. However, SI supported Năstase, which led to the abandonment of the social-democratic doctrine by the PD and the withdrawal of the party from SI in 2005.