The Basescu camp were all smiles, Mr Geoana's team looked calm and determined. The photographs of the victory celebrations splashed across Romanian newspapers' front-pages reflect the strange enigma of this presidential election - the top three candidates all claimed victory. Traian Basescu won 32.8%, according to partial official results. It is a big fall from his former position as the darling of the majority of Romanians, but a good enough result to make him confident for the run-off on 6 December. The result of the referendum held at the same time as the presidential vote was also a boost for Mr Basescu. Around 80% voted in favour of his proposal to axe the Senate, the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, and reduce the lower house from 471 to 300 seats.
Traian Basescu won 32.8%, according to partial official results. It is a big fall from his former position as the darling of the majority of Romanians, but a good enough result to make him confident for the run-off on 6 December.
The result of the referendum held at the same time as the presidential vote was also a boost for Mr Basescu.
Around 80% voted in favour of his proposal to axe the Senate, the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament, and reduce the lower house from 471 to 300 seats.
President Traian Basescu led by a slim margin in the first round of Romania's presidential election on Monday, but the close results pointed to tough talks ahead on forming a new government. Failure to form a new government rapidly could further endanger a 20-billion-euro aid package led by the International Monetary Fund and hamper efforts to move the country quickly out of recession. Partial results from 74 percent of polling stations showed centrist Basescu had 33 percent of the votes cast in Sunday's ballot. Social Democrat (PSD) leader Mircea Geoana 30 percent.
Failure to form a new government rapidly could further endanger a 20-billion-euro aid package led by the International Monetary Fund and hamper efforts to move the country quickly out of recession.
Partial results from 74 percent of polling stations showed centrist Basescu had 33 percent of the votes cast in Sunday's ballot. Social Democrat (PSD) leader Mircea Geoana 30 percent.
Traian Basescu obtained 32.43% of the votes, Mircea Geoana 31.16% and Crin Antonescu 20.02% according to the partial official results published by the Central Electoral Office on Monday, at 8PM, after counting 99.81% of the votes. The turnout was 54.32%.The other candidates and their results: Corneliu Vadim Tudor - 5,55%. Kelemen Hunor - 3,84% Sorin Oprescu - 3,18%. George Becali - 1,91%. Remus Cernea - 0,62% Constantin Rotaru - 0,45% Eduard Manole - 0,35% Ovidiu Iane - 0,23% Ninel Potarca - 0,21%
The smaller party candidates might cancel out, the one big question is whether the 20% who voted for the other liberal party's candidate will rather stay home, or vote for the clean-vested Mircea Geoană even if disliking his post-communist, post-Iliescu party; or ignore their candidate's position and vote for Băsescu. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Romanian voters culled the presidential field with a vote Sunday that propels the two finalists, incumbent Traian Basescu and Mircea Geoana, the head of the Social Democrat Party, into a Dec. 6 runoff election. Basescu appears to have won the first round, according to partial results form the Central Electoral Bureau in Bucharest, but Geoana is narrowly favored by most opinion polls to win the decisive second round. The election should break an impasse that began early last month when Geoana pulled his party out of a coalition government, leaving Prime Minister Emil Boc--a Basescu appointee--a lame duck as he negotiates budget conditions dictated by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF, flanked by the European Union, loaned Romania EUR20 billion earlier this year to preempt a balance-of-payments crisis as Romania's economy lurched into a severe contraction. The IMF has declined to disburse the second tranche of its standby loan until Romania has a new government.
Basescu appears to have won the first round, according to partial results form the Central Electoral Bureau in Bucharest, but Geoana is narrowly favored by most opinion polls to win the decisive second round.
The election should break an impasse that began early last month when Geoana pulled his party out of a coalition government, leaving Prime Minister Emil Boc--a Basescu appointee--a lame duck as he negotiates budget conditions dictated by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF, flanked by the European Union, loaned Romania EUR20 billion earlier this year to preempt a balance-of-payments crisis as Romania's economy lurched into a severe contraction.
The IMF has declined to disburse the second tranche of its standby loan until Romania has a new government.
Liberal candidate Crin Antonescu, who came third in presidential elections on Sunday thus failing to go into a second round of elections, said on Monday that any collaboration with incumbent President and rival candidate Traian Basescu was out of question. The statement comes as parties are fighting over support of the electorate for the second round of the presidential poll, due on December 6, when Basescu will face Social Democrat Mircea Geoana.Antonescu said Basescu was not a rightist candidate as he tried to depict himself on Sunday night, but "a populist candidate, a man who would abuse anything".
The President vs. Parliament war is heading for an unexpected end: mutual knockout!
...that is: while Băsescu succeeded with his referendum idea (voters overwhelmingly voted to change the bicameral parliament to unicameral, with much less seats), there is now a realistic chance that he will lose in the second round of the Presidential elections.
This is insane. I wonder if any new forces/personalities can grow out of this (beyond Klaus Johannis). *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
