Analysis

Euro elections in Romania

As in the majority of the EU countries, Romania was not an exception either, regarding the population's participation at the voting sectors, on Sunday the 7th of June 2009. Although, most of the essays written before the elections forecasted that the participating ratio would be 25%, tops. This prediction proved to be wrong, because this number rose to 27.6%


By TAMAS TORO
from Timisoara, ROMANIA


Romania has 33 places in the European Parliament, 2 places less according to 2007's 35 places. Each party that gets a minimum of 5% of the votes has the right to send its candidates to the EP accordingly to its percentage. In Romania's case 5% means 2 persons in the EP (that is the minimum), and an independent candidate has to gather a 3.33% for a mandate. The race for the 33 places in the European Parliament was held between seven parties and two independent candidates. There was no surprise when the final results were announced, five parties (Social Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party, National Liberal Party, Democratic Union of Hungarians from Romania, Great Romanian Party, and the independent candidate Elena Basescu) passed the 5% threshold and one independent was elected.

Party/Candidate

1. Social Democratic Party 1504218 votes 31.07 %
2. Democratic Liberal Party 1438000 29.71
3. National Liberal Party 702974 14.52
4. Democratic Union of Hungarians from Romania 431739 8.92
5. Great Romanian Party 419094 8.65
6. Elena Basescu 204280 4.22

SDP and DLP

The SDP and DLP are the two big parties in Romania, which are in a coalition for government since the 2008 elections. Both are left wing parties, although the DLP likes to think of itself as right wing. The change was made from one day to another, but no ideological change was made. But the DLP's European Peoples Party membership legitimates its right wing status. It is important to know that the DLP's candidate for presidency was the current President, Traian Basescu, and de facto he leads the party until today. So the big race was between these two parties, although they are not much different. The final result was that the SDP gained 31.07% of the votes sending 11 people to the EP, and the DLP with 29.71% will have 10 members of the European Parliament.

NLP

A kind of surprise was that the National Liberal Party (NLP) collected 14.52% of the votes. It is a surprise because in the last few elections they constantly gained 18-20%. Although 15% it is a high percentage for a liberal party, if we look at other EU members (in Hungary for example the Alliance of Free Democrats - the Hungarian Liberal Party after governing for years, at the 2009 EP elections got 2.6%). Most probably, the fact that the NLP lead a minority government along with the Democratic Union of Hungarians from Romania (DUHR), between 2006 and 2008, erode its image. They where the target of the two big party's constant attacks, and this affected the NLP's reputation. But after four years of SDP-DLP governance, which has a lot of inner conflicts and problems, once again the NLP will be part of Romania's ministerial team, in 2012 at the latest.

GRP

In 2007, at the first EP elections in Romania, the GRP did not gather the 5%, and neither in the 2008 Romanian Parliamentary elections. The GRP President Corneliu Vadim Tudor's name may be familiar for some, for his xenophobic, anti-Hungarian, anti-Semite, anti-Roma pronouncements. After his party lost two elections, he needed something new, a new image. He have decided to make a pact with the other far right wing leader Gigi Becali, who is a former sheep herder, and now one of Romania's richest people, the owner of the Steaua Bucharest football team, and he is a very popular man. Since 5% allows a party to send 2 people in the EP, it was most probable that if two far right leaders join forces, they will pass the 5%, but nobody expected that the final result would be 8.65%, which is equal with three EP mandates. Perhaps this result was a surprise even for C.V. Tudor, because besides him and Becali the rest of the people on the list where "no names" in Romanian politics. But after this good result, Tudor has a problem. His colleague Becali cannot leave the country because he was accused of abuse and kidnapping (he was under arrest for more than a month), so most probable his place in the EP will remain vacant. However, it is not something that will help Romania to gain a better reputation in the EU.

EBA

Another surprise in Romanian EP elections is the candidacy of Elena Basescu, President Traian Basescu's daughter. She is a 29 years old former top model, and not exactly the "politician material". She was a member of the DLP, but in March 2009, she announced that she would quit from DLP and candidate as an independent for an EP mandate. Obviously she was backed by her father and the DLP (some DLP minister said they would vote for Eba. This was her campaign nickname). It was no surprise that she gathered 4.22%, which is enormous for a person who is in politics for one year. One of the biggest surprises represents a fact that on the same night when the results were announced, she signed back in the DLP. So this resulted that the two big parties have 11-11 mandates in the EP. For many analysts it was the clear sign where the Romanian democracy stands. It is still left to see how will this President's and the DLP's 'game' affect on the presidential elections at the end of the current year.

The DUHR and the Hungarians

The DUHR (Democratic Union of Hungarians from Romania) gathered 8.92% of the votes, sending three people in the EP. It is interesting because 7% of the Romanian population is Hungarian, so this result renders as a good one. However, it should be known that there are two camps which for the first time joined forces: one is the DUHR, which is the bigger, and the other lead by László Tokés, the man who started the revolution in Romania in 1989, and was a member of the EP until now as an independent, and who stands for the autonomy of the Hungarians from Romania. Both sides say that they will fight for the autonomy, and for the first time they joined forces under the legal "umbrella" of the DUHR. Tokés lead the list, the second and third person was the DUHR candidate, and the forth again one of Tokés's partner. After all, three deputies for the Hungarians from Romania represents a good result, and at the same time is a proof that with a better mobilization the Hungarians from Romania could send four people in the European Parliament.


(Published: 20.06.2009.)