Charges of Fraud in Romania’s Presidential Election
December 7, 2009
By: Matt Levy

After both the opposition candidate and incumbent president declared victory Sunday evening, election officials have declared incumbent President Traian Basescu the winner by less than a 1% margin. On December 6, the people of Romania went to the polls to vote for president and according to official results as reported by the BBC, incumbent President Traian Basescu polled 50.33% of votes compared to Mr Geoana's 49.66%, with over 99.95% of total votes tallied.

However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the opposition Social Democratic Party stated that they would contest the election result due to claims of widespread irregularities. With only 70,000 votes separating the two candidates, Social Democratic Party spokesperson Liviu Dragnea stated there were many factors that substantiate their claims of fraud and would have altered the outcome of the election including: 138,000 voided ballots, allegations of forged ballots and claims of “massive electoral tourism” in which over 600,000 voters cast their ballots in special voting centers, many of whom, he claims, had already voted elsewhere.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, responsible for overseeing the elections, released a statement assessing the process as positive, but urged election officials to address the allegations of fraud and other shortcomings, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. According to the Washington Post, allies of the president have denied election improprieties.

Sources:
BBC News – Romania opposition alleges fraud in presidential poll
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8399334.stm

Washington Post – Romanian opposition claims fraud in president vote
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/07/AR2009120701196_2.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Wall Street Journal – Incumbent Claims Victory in Tight Romanian Election
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126016991423779775.html

www.ccd21.org