Romania elects local leadership

03/06/2008

Candidates will weather runoffs on June 15th after Sunday's elections decided few mayoralties.

By Valentina Pop for Southeast European Times in Bucharest - 03/06/08

In Romania's major cities -- with the exception of Constanta and Cluj-Napoca – nobody won a mayoralty in the first round. [Gabriel Petrescu]

Sunday's (June 1st) local elections in Romania saw low voter turnout -- with less than 50% of eligible voters going to the polls -- five percentage points below turnout in 2004. About 18 million people were eligible to vote for 3,200 mayors, 40,000 members of district councils and 41 chairmen of district councils.

The elections were unprecedented because this "first generation of European local officials", in the words of President Traian Basescu, will manage EU funds totalling 20 billion euros from 2007-2013. Romania will receive these funds for local, regional and national projects meant to close the social and infrastructural gap between the EU's newcomer and older member states.

Bucharest saw very low turnout, with only 31% of eligible voters casting ballots, despite the political and financial stakes probably being the highest nationwide. Observers view its mayoralty as a potential springboard to the presidency, as it was for Basescu, who went from mayor to president in 2004.

Nineteen candidates competed for the post. Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) candidate Vasile Blaga -- who received 30.9% of the vote -- and independent candidate Sorin Oprescu -- who received 30.7% -- will meet in a runoff on June 15th.

Oprescu's independent bid sparked controversies from the very beginning, when he quit the Social Democratic Party (PSD) after failing to earn its nomination.

After his resignation, Oprescu failed to collect enough petition signatures to run as an independent. In the end, the Appeals Court ruled that he could run. The press later found that some of his alleged petition signers had never heard of Oprescu or were infants.

In the other major cities -- with the exception of Constanta and Cluj-Napoca -- no mayoral candidate won in the first round. In Constanta, PSD member Radu Mazare won another term with an estimated 63% of the vote. In Cluj-Napoca, PDL candidate Emil Boc was re-elected with 75%.

A series of irregularities and violent incidents occurred in smaller towns, where some politicians allegedly tried to buy votes. Anamaria Mosneagu, executive director of the Pro-Democratia Association, a Romanian NGO that sent observers to polling stations, cited suspicions a vote cost between 800 and 1,000 euros, especially in areas with major economic interests, according to BBC reports.

In another reported incident, hundreds gathered outside a local polling place in Stefanesti just outside Bucharest, claiming someone promised them 300 euros to vote for a candidate. There are 4,000 registered voters in Stefanesti spread over two electoral wards. On Monday, Interior Minister Cristian David promised an investigation, saying there was "real evidence that the vote was influenced".