| Country: | Romania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous Election: | 1992 Romanian general election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous Year: | 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Next Election: | 2000 Romanian general election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Next Year: | 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Romania on 3 November 1996, with a second round of the presidential election on 17 November.[1]
Opinion polls prior to the elections suggested incumbent President Ion Iliescu of the Social Democracy Party of Romania (PDSR, formerly the Democratic National Salvation Front) would win a third term, though it was believed a large field of candidates would push him into a runoff.[2] Iliescu received the most votes in the first round, just ahead of his 1992 run-off opponent, Emil Constantinescu of the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR).
In the second round, Constantinescu defeated Iliescu with 54 percent of the vote. Iliescu conceded defeat soon after the polls closed.[3] Constantinescu took office on 29 November, marking the first peaceful transfer of power since the fall of communism. To date, it is the only time since the introduction of direct presidential elections that an incumbent Romanian president has been defeated when running for re-election. The 1996 Romanian presidential election was the third of its kind held in post-1989 Romania.
The CDR, a broad coalition of parties opposing the governing centre-left PDSR, also emerged as the largest bloc in Parliament, winning 122 of the 343 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 53 of the 143 seats in the Senate.
| Name | Lifespan | Public Administration Experience | Affiliation and endorsements | Alma mater and profession | Candidacy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emil Constantinescu | Born: (age) Tighina (de jure, Republic of Moldova; de facto Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) | Rector of University of Bucharest (1992–election day) Former presidential election: 1992: 31.1% (2nd place, 1st round), 38.6% (2nd place, 2nd round) | Affiliation: CDR | Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest (1960) Faculty of Geology, University of Bucharest (1966) geology professor | ||
Ion Iliescu | Born: (age) Oltenița, Călărași County | President of Romania (1989–election day) President of Water Surfaces Management Council (1979–1984) Member of the State Council (full member: 1979–1980, observative: 1974–1979) President of Iași County Council (1974–1979) Vice-President of Timiș County Council (1971–1974) Minister of Youth (1967–1971) Deputy (1957–1961, 1965–1973, 1975–1985) Former presidential elections: 1992: 47.2% (1st place, 1st round), 61.4% (winner, 2nd round) 1990: 85.1% (winner) | Affiliation: PDSR | Energy Institute, Moscow State University (1954) fluid mechanics engineer, publishing house manager | ||
Petre Roman | Born: (age) Bucharest | Deputy (1990–election day) Prime Minister of Romania (1989–1991) | Affiliation: Social Democratic Union Alliance members: PD and PSDR | Faculty of Energy, Politehnica University of Bucharest (1968) hydroelectric powerplant engineer | ||
György Frunda | Born: (age) Târgu Mureș, Mureș County | Senator (1992–election day) | Affiliation: UDMR | Faculty of Law, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca (1974) lawyer | ||
Corneliu Vadim Tudor | Born: (age) Bucharest Died, Bucharest | Senator (1992–election day) | Affiliation: PRM | Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest (1971) journalist, writer | ||
Gheorghe Funar | Born: (age) Sânnicolau Mare, Timiș County | Mayor of Cluj-Napoca (1992–election day) Former presidential election: 1992: 10.8% (3rd place, 1st round) | Affiliation: PUNR | Faculty of Economics and Business Management, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca (unknown year) economist | ||
Tudor Mohora | Born: (age) Bogdana, Teleorman County | Deputy (1992–election day) | Affiliation: Socialist Party | Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest (1974) chemistry teacher | ||
Nicolae Manolescu | Born: (age) Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County | Senator (1992–election day) | Affiliation: National Liberal Alliance | Faculty of Philology, University of Bucharest (1962) writer, book critic | ||
Adrian Păunescu | Born: (age) Copăceni, Sîngerei District, Republic of Moldova Died, Bucharest | Senator (1992–election day) | Affiliation: PSM | Faculty of Philology, University of Bucharest (1968) poet | ||
Ioan Pop de Popa | Born: (age) Oradea, Bihor County | Deputy (1965–1973) | Affiliation: Center National Union | Faculty of Medicine, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca (1952) cardiologist | ||
George Muntean | Born: (age) Bilca, Suceava County | Affiliation: Retirees Party | Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest (1959) historian, journalist | |||
Radu Câmpeanu | Born: (age), Bucharest Died, Bucharest | Former presidential election: 1990: 10.6% (2nd place) | Affiliation: National Liberal-Ecologist Alliance | Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest (1945) Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Bucharest (1947) economist | ||
Nuțu Anghelina | Born: (age) Buhuși, Bacău County | Affiliation: none | Faculty of Orthodox Theology, unknown university (1986) orthodox priest | |||
Constantin Mudava | Born: (age) Ghirdoveni, Dâmbovița County Died, Târgoviște | Affiliation: none | unknown education holistic healer | |||
Constantin Niculescu | Born: (age) Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County | Affiliation: National Party of Motorists | Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov (1960) mechanical engineer | |||
Nicolae Militaru | Born: (age) Bălești, Gorj County Died, Bucharest | Minister of Defence (1989–1990) Deputy Minister for Industrial Constructions (1978–1984) Deputy (1969–1975) | Affiliation: none | Frunze Military Academy, Moscow (unknown year) military |
Petre Roman, György Frunda, Gheorghe Funar, and Nicolae Manolescu openly endorsed Constantinescu in the second round. Corneliu Vadim Tudor, Tudor Mohora, and Adrian Păunescu openly endorsed Iliescu.
Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR) members included the PNȚCD, PNL, PNL–CD (1 senator), PAR (3 senators), PER (1 senator), Ecologist Federation of Romania (FER) (1 senator).