THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS NOVEMBER 22 nd AND DECEMBER 6 th 2009 Tiberiu Csaba Kovacs, Secretary General PERMANENT ELECTORAL AUTHORITY ROMANIA

For the first time in post revolutionary Romania, the Presidential Elections did not take place at the same time with the Elections for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The election of the president of Romania took place in two rounds: the first round was held on the 22 nd of November 2009, and the run- off round was held two weeks later, on the 6 th of December 2009, while the voting system applied was the uninominal system of election on a majority basis, in two voting rounds. Also for the first time during these elections, special polling stations were established in towns, cities and communes, mostly in railway stations, intercity bus stations and airports, as well as in college campuses, for all electors caught in a town, city or commune, other than their domicile addresses during elections’ day.

The total number of polling stations established was , out of which there were election stations within the country ( usual polling stations and special polling stations) and 294 abroad. Also on the 22 nd of November 2009, the President in office called a National Referendum on introducing a unicameral Parliament and reducing the number of deputies from 471 to 300.

Media and the Civil Society during the Electoral Campaign (1) The Permanent Electoral Authority elaborated a series of informative materials made known to the electors. These were:  Guide of Electoral Bureaus’ Presidents / Vice-presidents of Polling Stations;  Romanian Elector’s Guide;  Guide of the Romanian Elector from Abroad;  Responsibilities of the Electoral Bureau’s President / Vice-president of the Polling Station during the Presidential Elections and National Referendum. The Permanent Electoral Authority accredited mass-media representatives, as well as national and international observers for both election rounds. So, the Authority issued a number of 311 certificates for Romanian mass-media institutions, and a number of 76 certificates for Romanian nongovernmental organizations.

Also, the Permanent Electoral Authority issued 57 accreditation certificates for international observers (29 of which were members of the OSCE/ODHIR Observation Mission) and 83 accreditation certificates for mass-media representatives from abroad. During the electoral campaign, mass-media ensured a wide presentation of the candidates’ political actions. The OSCE/ODHIR Observation Mission was also a participant in these elections, subsequent to which it rendered a report, out of which we mention a few recommendations: Media and the Civil Society during the Electoral Campaign (2)

Media and the Civil Society during the Electoral Campaign (3)  In order to improve the equal access of all candidates to the electoral process, independent candidates could be given the right of appointing members within the electoral bureaus, similar to the model currently used for the political parties that have no representatives (3 independent candidates participated in these elections).  Either the consolidation of the Permanent Electoral Authority with supplementary resources - which would enable a more efficient fulfillment of duties - or the replacement of the present dual administration system with a more permanent and professional electoral administration should be considered. In any case, the electoral administration should continue to have a pluralist character and to include representatives of parties concerned, especially political parties and/or candidates.

Financing of the Electoral Campaign (1) The Permanent Electoral Authority is the public authority empowered to monitor the conformation to legal stipulations concerning the financing of political parties, political alliances, national minorities’ associations/unions and independent candidates. In these elections, the Authority took a series of measures, namely:  the official registration of financial mandators designated by the political parties, political alliances, electoral alliances, national minorities’ associations/unions and independent candidates;  the organization of meetings with the financial mandators;

Financing of the Electoral Campaign (2)  verifying the manner in which the organizations keeps the records, the registering and verifying of the data to be reported by the political parties and independent candidates, as well as the setting necessary to the development of the monitoring process concerning the financing of the presidential electoral campaign. During the electoral campaign, the Permanent Electoral Authority took record of the sum of lei, representing the donations declared by the political parties and alliances that had candidates listed in the electoral race, as well as by independent candidates.

The political formations also have the possibility of financing the electoral campaign with capitals representing “party transfers”, capitals representing levies, donations or other revenues received in the period of time prior to the campaign. For the financing of the electoral campaign, there was a record of total funding of ,22 lei, out of which ,18 (38,84%) represent transfers from parties and ,04 (61,16%) donations made to the campaign. Financing of the Electoral Campaign (3)

The maximum limit of expenses that can be made by a political party or alliance, or by an independent candidate during the electoral campaign for the election of the President of Romania is of minimum gross salaries by country, that is an equal of 600 lei (approximately 150 €). Out of the total expenses of ,64 lei (approximately ,16 €), ,42 lei were spent on “prints and other promotional materials” (42,47%), ,70 lei on “promoting, press, radio, TV” (24,65%), ,85 lei on “street promotion” (20,32%) and ,67 lei on “staff”, “rent, maintenance and running of offices”, “communication”, “protocol”, “transportation”, “travelling expenses”, “services”, “opinion polls, research, consultations” şi “other expenses” (12,53%). Financing of the Electoral Campaign (4)

Irregularities Signaled during the Elections Signaled irregularities:  mass-media publishing of articles containing electoral content and defamatory references to one or another presidency candidate;  transgression of legal stipulations concerning the format and content of electoral propaganda materials, as well as of those concerning electoral display of banners;  placement of electoral banners and distribution of electoral leaflets containing denigratory references to one of the candidates;  deterioration or covering up electoral banners of candidates with others of denigratory content;  refusals of some of the electoral bureaus’ presidents of taking record of certain complaints;  the incorrect filling up of proceedings-records necessary for the centralization of election results;  registration of electors who exercised their right to vote for both the election of the President of Romania and the National Referendum in the same electoral chart;  disappearance of some voting ballots;  placement of some voting booths outside the election office.

Election Results (1) During the first election round of the Presidential Elections, out of the total of electors registered on the permanent voting lists, electors were present at the election offices. The total number of valid votes was of (the total number of invalid votes was of ), out of which electors were from abroad and electors voted in another election office than in the one they had been assigned to according to their domicile addresses (as a total percentage, the recorded election presence was of 54,37%).

Election Results (2) During the second election round of the Presidential Elections, an increase of the presence in the elections can be observed. The total number of voters registered on the permanent voting lists was of , while electors were present at the election offices. The total number of valid votes was of (the total number of invalid votes was of ), out of which electors were from abroad and electors voted in another election office than in the one they had been assigned to according to their permanent addresses (as a total percentage, the recorded election presence was of 58,02%.

Election Results (3) For the first time, the Constitutional Court resent the invalid ballots to the Central Electoral Bureau for re-examined and recount, in order to establish if there existed any differences between the data registered in the proceedings-records of the Central Electoral Bureau and ascertained reality. Subsequent to the re-examination of invalid votes, were declared valid, out of which votes for Traian Băsescu and 987 votes for Mircea Geoană.

Conclusions (1) The setting of the Presidential Elections in the same day with the National Referendum determined irregularities, the majority of which were caused by inadvertences resulted from two different laws, one concerning the election of the President of Romania and the other concerning the organization and development of the referendum, irregularities with respect to the constitution of electoral bureaus, of election offices, to the opening and closing times of the elections, the electoral lists, the electoral campaign and the exercise of the right to vote. The offences and contraventions stipulated by the two laws are not characterized by the same content or by the same penalties. Applying the two laws which do not share similar stipulations generated a series of confusions in the activity of the electoral bureaus.

Conclusions (2) In order to ensure an adequate setting of elections, changes of the electoral legislation prior to the time of elections should be avoided. The Permanent Electoral Authority recommends setting a time limit of at least 6 months prior to the elections day during which no changes or adding to the electoral legislations should occur, not even through the Government’s urgent enactments. The Permanent Electoral Authority also recommends modifying the legislation concerning the election development schedule during elections day of the election offices abroad, so that no time gaps between the closing times of election offices in Romania and abroad can occur. The forming of a team of “electoral specialists” is necessary, with the purpose of ensuring the constitution of the electoral bureaus.