The early stages of the 2004 presidential race revolved around four contenders. Current prime minister Adrian Nastase of the Social Democratic Party (PDS) was considered the frontrunner. Vadim Tudor of the Party of Great Romania (PRM) once again was the nominee for the PRM. Lia Roberts—a former chairwoman for the Republican Party in the state of Nevada—also actively campaigned for office. Roberts holds dual American-Romanian citizenship. Former prime minister Theodor Stolojan headed the Justice and Truth (DA) coalition encompassing the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Party (PD).

A CURS poll conducted in March gave Nastase an early lead with 44 per cent of the vote, followed by Stolojan with 26 per cent, and Tudor with 15 per cent. An August CURS/Antena 1 poll kept Nastase as the top presidential contender with 43 per cent, with Stolojan in second place with 35 per cent, followed by Tudor, Codrut Seres of the Humanist Party of Romania (PUR) and Roberts.

In October, Bucharest mayor Traian Basescu became the presidential nominee for the DA coalition after Stolojan withdrew from contention citing health reasons. Other contenders included Marko Bela of the Hungarian Democratic Alliance of Romania (UDMR), Gigi Becali of the New Generation Party (PNG), Gheorghe Ciuhandu of the Democratic National Peasant Party (PNTCD), Marian Petre Milut of Popular Action (AP) and Petre Roman of Democratic Force (FD).

The two main contenders offered differing fiscal proposals. Nastase called for a reduction of corporate taxes from 25 per cent to 19 per cent, and a reduction for the top income tax rate from 40 per cent to 38 per cent. For his part, Basescu proposed a flat 16 per cent tax rate for both individuals and corporations.

The PSD has proposed current foreign minister Mircea Geoana to replace Nastase as prime minister, while the DA alliance nominated businessman and former cabinet member Calin Popescu.

In late October, a group of several non-governmental organizations known as the Coalition for a Clean Parliament released several lists of candidates considered "morally unfit" to hold public office, and asked their respective parties to remove them from contention. The documents included more than 200 members of political parties who failed to meet the Coalition’s criteria by having a criminal record or conducting illegal activities. The group collected the information about specific candidates from local communities and media outlets.

In the end, the ruling PSD and the PUR kept 95 of the parliamentary candidates listed by the Coalition, followed by the PRM with 46, the DA alliance with nine, and the UDMR with three.

On Nov. 22, at least four Romanian newspapers published hundreds of pages purported to be transcripts of PDS meetings. In the documents, ministers and party members alike allegedly discuss issues such as launching a criminal investigation on Basescu, and how to rig votes in the Senate. Nastase dismissed the controversy and said the purported transcripts are not genuine, but former PDS secretary general Cozmin Gusa—now a member of the opposition—said a section of the documents appears to be accurate.

In November, a poll by CSOP put Basescu ahead of Nastase by just 0.3 per cent, suggesting the presidential election could be headed for a second round. Surveys by CURS and Data Media gave Nastase the lead.

Voting took place on Nov. 28. Final results put Nastase in first place with 40.94 per cent of the vote, with Basescu in second place with 33.92 per cent. The outcome forces a run-off on Dec. 12.

On Nov. 30, Basescu claimed electronic vote-counting procedures cost his coalition more than 160,000 votes, saying, "It is necessary to repeat the elections. We are concerned the electoral process is much too affected by fraud." PSD vice-president and cabinet minister Miron Mitrea said his party "does not interfere in electoral activity. The elections in Romania were correct." Central Electoral Bureau president Emil Gherghut rejected the opposition’s demands.

In the election to the Chamber of Deputies, the National Union (NU)—encompassing the PDS and the Humanist Party of Romania (PUR)—finished in first place with 36.61 per cent, followed by the Alliance of Justice and Truth (DA) with 31.33 per cent. In the Senate, the NU held a 5.36 per cent lead over ther DA.

Political Players

President: Ion Iliescu - PDSR
Prime minister: Adrian Nastase - PDSR

The president is elected to a four-year term by the popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The Parlamentul Romaniei (Romanian Parliament) has two chambers. The Camera Deputatilor (Chamber of Deputies) has 346 members, elected to four-year terms; 327 members are elected by proportional representation and 19 members represent ethnic minorities. The Senatul (Senate) has 143 members, elected to four-year terms by proportional representation.

Results of Last Election:

President - Nov. 28 and Dec. 12, 2004.

Nov. 28
Dec. 12

Adrian Nastase -
Social Democratic Party (PDS)
40.94%

Traian Basescu -
Justice and Truth (DA)
National Liberal Party (PNL)
Democratic Party (PD)
33.92%

Vadim Tudor -
Party of Great Romania (PRM)
12.57%
--

Marko Bela -
Hungarian Democratic
Alliance of Romania (UDMR)
5.10%
--

Gheorghe Ciuhandu -
Democratic National
Peasant Party (PNTCD)
1.90%
--

Gigi Becali -
New Generation Party (PNG)
1.77%
--

Petre Roman -
Democratic Force (FD)
1.35%
--

Gheorghe Dinu -
Independent
1.08%
--

Marian Petre Milut -
Popular Action (AP)
0.42%
--

Ovidiu Tudorici -
Renewal Union of Romania (URR)
0.36%
--

Aurel Radulescu -
Christian Democrat
Popular Alliance (APCR)
0.34%
--

Alexandru Raj Tunaru -
Youth Democratic Party (PTD)
0.26%
--

Chanber of Deputies - Nov. 28, 2004

Vote%

National Union (UN)
Social Democratic Party (PDS)
Humanist Party of Romania (PUR)
36.61%

Alliance for Justice and Truth (DA)
National Liberal Party (PNL)
Democratic Party (PD)
31.33%

Party of Great Romania (PRM)
12.92%

Hungarian Democratic
Alliance of Romania (UDMR)
6.17%

New Generation Party (PNG)
2.23%

Democratic National
Peasant Party (PNTCD)
1.85%

Senate - Nov. 28, 2004

Vote%

National Union (UN)
Social Democratic Party (PDS)
Humanist Party of Romania (PUR)
37.13%

Alliance for Justice and Truth (DA)
National Liberal Party (PNL)
Democratic Party (PD)
31.77%

Party of Great Romania (PRM)
13.63%

Hungarian Democratic
Alliance of Romania (UDMR)
6.23%

New Generation Party (PNG)
2.36%

Democratic National
Peasant Party (PNTCD)
1.92%