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Disputed poll

December 11, 2009

Romania's top court is calling for a partial recount of votes cast in Sunday's disputed presidential election. However, some analysts say the move is unlikely to tip the balance in favor of the defeated Social Democrats.

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Traian Basescu
Initial results gave Basescu a narrow victory in Sunday's presidential runoffImage: AP

The Romanian Constitutional Court on Friday ordered a re-examination and recount of votes annulled in Sunday's presidential run-off election.

Social Democrat candidate Mircea Geoana lost by a margin of just 70, 000 votes to incumbent President Traian Basescu, garnering 49.7 percent to Basescu's 50.3 percent.

Some 138,000 ballots papers previously declared invalid by electoral officials are to be recounted in the coming week.

Though mathematically possible, some analysts said it was unlikely that the move would change the election result.

"I don't think the proportion of votes that could get validated would be in such an amount to change the election result," Mircea Marian, a political commentator of daily Evenimentul Zilei, was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

Basescu unworried

Speaking on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels, Basescu appeared unperturbed by the court's ruling, saying that contesting the election result was part of the democratic process.

Analysts pointed out that the court still had to rule on another complaint by the Social Democrats, who are asking for the entire election result to be overturned, due to alleged multiple voting and vote buying.

Sunday's disputed election followed a months-long crisis that began after Romania's center-left coalition government collapsed in October.

It will be up to the next president to appoint a replacement for Prime Minister Emil Boc, who is currently heading an interim government with limited powers.

Once the political stalemate is resolved, Bucharest is hoping for the implementation of a 20-billion-euro ($29.45 billion) international aid deal that was put on hold last month.

However, the government will first have to pass a cost-cutting budget before the International Monetary Fund will release a 1.5 billion euro tranche that was originally planned for December.

nk/dpa/Reuters/AFP/AP
Editor: Michael Lawton

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A mother and her son passing the posters of main presidential candidates in Bucharest, Romania, 17 November 2009. Romania will hold its presidential elections on November 22, 2009. From left to right we have the posters belonging to: Crin Antonescu, the leader of National Liberal Party, incumbent president Traian Basescu, and Mircea Geoana, head of Social Democracy Party.

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