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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 Social Democratic Party (PSD) and then incumbent Bucharest Mayor Traian Băsescu of the opposition Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), more specifically of the Democratic Party (PD). Băsescu was elected President by a narrow majority of just 51.2%.[1] 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.
The main contenders were the left-wing alliance made up of the then incumbent Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSD) and the Romanian Humanist Party (PUR), and, on the other hand, the center-right Justice and Truth Alliance (DA; Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Dreptate și adevăr) comprising the conservative-liberal National Liberal Party (PNL) and the initially social-democratic Democratic Party (PD) which later adopted a center-right Christian democratic ideology.
Other significant contenders were the Greater Romania Party (PRM) (right-wing nationalists), the ethnic Hungarian party Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), and the Union for Romanian Reconstruction (UPRR), a group of right-wing technocrats.
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. Wayback Machine
| Name | Lifespan | Public Administration Experience | Affiliation and endorsements | Alma mater and profession | Candidacy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Traian Băsescu | Born: (age) Basarabi, Constanța County | Mayor of Bucharest (2000-election day) Deputy (1992–2000) Minister of Transport (1991–1992, 1996–1998, 1998–2000) Sub-Secretary of State for Naval Transportation with the Ministry of Transport (1990–1991) Director of Civil Navigation Inspectorate with the Ministry of Transport (1989–1990) | Mircea cel Bătrân Naval Academy (1976) seaman | |||
Adrian Năstase | Born: (age) Bucharest | Prime Minister of Romania (2000-election day) Deputy (1990, 1992-election day) President of the Chamber of Deputies (1992–1996) Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990–1992) | Faculty of Sociology, University of Bucharest (1978) Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest (1973) jurist | |||
Corneliu Vadim Tudor | Born: (age) Bucharest Died:, Bucharest | Senator (1992-election day) Former presidential elections: 2000: 28.3% (2nd place, 1st round), 33.2% (2nd place, 2nd round) 1996: 4.7% (5th place, 1st round) | Affiliation: PRM | Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest (1971) journalist, writer | ||
Béla Markó | Born: (age) Târgu Secuiesc, Covasna County | Senator (1990-election day) | Affiliation: UDMR | Faculty of Philology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca (1974) journalist, poet | ||
Gheorghe Ciuhandu | Born: (age) Timișoara, Timiș County | Mayor of Timișoara (1996-election day) | Affiliation: PNȚCD | Faculty of Constructions, Politehnica University of Timișoara (1970) building engineer | ||
Gigi Becali | Born: (age) Vădeni, Brăila County | Affiliation: PNG | "Iuliu Maniu" High-school, Bucharest (1978) shepherd, football club owner | |||
Petre Roman | Born: (age) Bucharest | Senator (1996-election day) Minister of Foreign Affairs (1999–2000) President of the Senate of Romania (1996–1999) Deputy (1990–1996) Prime Minister of Romania (1989–1991) Former presidential elections: 2000: 3.0% (6th place, 1st round) 1996: 20.5% (3rd place, 1st round) | Affiliation: Democratic Force | Faculty of Energy, Politehnica University of Bucharest (1968) hydroelectric powerplant engineer | ||
Gheorghe Dinu | Born: unknown birthdate unknown birthplace | Affiliation: none | unknown education intelligence officer | |||
Marian Petre Miluț | Born: (age) Craiova, Dolj County | Affiliation: People's Action | Faculty of Automation, Computers and Electronics, University of Craiova (1980) IT engineer | |||
Ovidiu Tudorici | Born: (age) Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Suceava County | Deputy Mayor of Câmpulung Moldovenesc (2004-election day) | Affiliation: Union for Romania's Reconstruction | Faculty of Law, Petre Andrei University of Iași (1997) salesman, marketing specialist | ||
Aurel Rădulescu | Born: (age) Adamclisi, Constanța County | Affiliation: Christian Democratic People's Alliance | Faculty of Law and Faculty of Tehology, unknown universities (unknown years) priest | |||
Raj Tunaru | Born: (age) Țânțăreni, Gorj County | Affiliation: Democratic Youth Party | University of Petroșani (unknown year) mining engineer |
Corneliu Vadim Tudor positioned himself against Băsescu, without openly endorsing Năstase. Marko Bela openly endorsed Adrian Năstase. Gheorghe Ciuhandu openly endorsed Băsescu.
On 13 December, the PUR president Dan Voiculescu hinted that they have more in common with the DA (both have a center-right orientation) and that they might break from the PSD, but one day later said that he would remain with PSD. It has been suggested by the press that this could be result of a blackmail about his communist past. By 25 December both UDMR and PUR signed a protocol of alliance with DA (Justice and Truth), with the designated prime minister being Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu. Thus, the PSD was left in opposition while Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), and the Humanist Party (PUR, renamed Conservative Party in 2005) formed the government.