Romanian legislative election, 2008
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Parliamentary elections were held in Romania on 30 November 2008. The Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) won three more seats than PSD in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, although the alliance headed by the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(PSD) won more votes and a fractionally higher vote share. The two parties subsequently formed a governing coalition with Emil Boc of the PDL as Prime Minister.


Electoral system

President Traian Băsescu had wanted to introduce a single-winner two-round electoral system before this election, but a 2007 referendum on the proposal failed due to insufficient turnout. A new electoral system was introduced as a compromise, with the previous party-list proportional representation system changed to a mixed member proportional representation system using sub- county constituencies (''colegii electorale''). A candidate was declared the winner in any electoral college where they obtained more than 50% of the vote. Seats where no candidate won an outright majority are then allocated using the D'Hondt method. If necessary, the number of seats for each chamber is raised, by giving supplementary seats. An electoral threshold of 5% was applied for each chamber; or winning at least six colleges for the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and three colleges for the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
by more than 50%. There was an additional adjustment for the Chamber of Deputies around the national minorities candidates.


Contenders

The main contenders in the election were the centre-left alliance made up of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(PSD) and the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
(PC); the liberal-conservative Democratic Liberal Party (PDL); and the liberal National Liberal Party (PNL). Other significant contenders were the ethnic Hungarian party Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) and the right-wing nationalist Greater Romania Party (PRM), both of whom were represented in the previous Parliament.


Opinion polls

The first exit-polls, published by INSOMAR after the polls were closed, predicted the results for the Chamber of Deputies as: PSD+PC - 36.2%;
PDL - 30.3%;
PNL - 20.4%;
UDMR - 6.7%. And for the Senate: PSD+PC - 35.9%;
PDL - 31.1%;
PNL - 19.9%;
UDMR - 6.7%.


Results

According to the official final results, the centre-left Alliance PSD+PC won 33.1% in the Chamber of Deputies, just ahead of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) on 32.4%, with the (PNL) on 18.6% and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) on 6.2%. The alliance led by the (PSD) won 34.2% in the Senate, just ahead of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) on 33.6%, with the (PNL) on 18.7% and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) on 6.4%. Compared to the 2004 election, the -led alliance fell back a few percents in the national vote share. The Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) and (PNL) had competed in the last election together as the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), but had split in April 2007. The Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) made significant gains in 2008 to become the largest party in both houses, while the (PNL) made smaller gains. Support for the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) was largely unchanged. The (PRM) obtained 13% of the national vote for the Chamber in 2004, but failed in 2008 to pass the 5% electoral threshold.


Senate


Chamber of Deputies


Aftermath


Government formation

It was expected that a
grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are t ...
of the Social Democrats and the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) would be formed. Initially the Prime Minister-designate was Theodor Stolojan, the PDL's official candidate. He was designated Prime Minister by the President Traian Băsescu on 11 December 2008, the official decree being issued and printed in the Monitorul Oficial the next day. On 15 December 2008, four days after his nomination, and one day after the coalition protocol was signed, Stolojan announced that he had resigned from the position of Prime Minister-designate, without giving any reason. The same day, Băsescu signed a decree that nominated the Mayor of
Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...
and PDL president Emil Boc. Boc's coalition government with the Social Democrats was approved by parliament in a 324–115 vote and was sworn in on 22 December 2008. Mircea Geoana of the Social Democrats became the new head of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, with
Roberta Alma Anastase Roberta Alma Anastase (; born 27 March 1976 in Ploiești, Romania) is a Romanian politician and former first female President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania between 19 December 2008 and 3 July 2012. She was a member of the Democratic Li ...
of the PDL as the new President of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
.


By-elections

At the start of the 2008–2012 parliamentary term, only parties that had won seats in the 2008 elections were eligible to contest parliamentary by-elections. However, this changed in 2011, after which all parties were allowed to propose candidates. The change came after repeated contests to the Constitutional Court of Romania of former 2009 presidential candidate Remus Cernea. Following the nomination of
Bogdan Olteanu Bogdan Olteanu (born 29 October 1971) is a Romanian politician and lawyer. He was the president of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the Romanian Parliament) between 2006 and 2008. Olteanu had formerly been a member of the National L ...
to the Council of Administration of the National Bank of Romania as Deputy Governor, the first by-election of the parliamentary term took place in Bucharest constituency 1 will be held the first by-election of this parliament. The election was held on 17 January 2010 and was a contest between
Radu Stroe Radu Stroe (born August 31, 1949) is a Romanian navigational engineer and politician. An independent, he was formerly a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL). He was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Maramureș County from 200 ...
of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and Honorius Prigoană, representing the PDL. The Social Democrats decided not to propose a candidate and to support the PNL candidate. Stroe was subsequently elected. Daniela Popa resigned from the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
to take office as President of the Insurance Supervising Committee, also stepping down as president of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. The PNL decided not to have its own candidate, but to support the PSD+PC candidate, based on the
gentlemen's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...
for the Bucharest by-election. The PSD nominated Conservative Party member and former Romanian Lottery director Liliana Mincă, with the PDL putting forward former TV show host Teo Trandafir, who went on to win. Following the death of
Ioan Timiş Ioan is a variation on the name John (first name), John found in Romanian language, Romanian, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Russian language, Russian, Welsh language, Welsh (), and Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The fema ...
, Deputy for Hunedoara County constituency 3, a by-election took place on 28 November 2010. All parties nominated candidates, with former Minister of Labour,
Mariana Câmpeanu Mariana may refer to: Literature *Mariana (Dickens novel), ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens *Mariana (poem), ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson *Mariana (Vaz novel), ''Mariana'' (Vaz no ...
of the PNL winning. In January 2011, the representative of the Macedonians in Romania, Liana Dumitrescu, died. As she was a representative of a national minority, her seat had no college. As a result, her seat was left empty. In April 2011
Victor Surdu Raul-Victor Surdu-Soreanu (July 11, 1947 – April 7, 2011) was a Romanian politician who served as the country's first post-Communist Minister of Agriculture following the 1989 Revolution. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). ...
died, vacating his seat in the Chamber of Deputies, Neamț County constituency 6. The by-election was held on 21 August 2011 and won by the PDL candidate,
Adrian Rădulescu Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...
, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Agriculture. In May 2011,
Cătălin Cherecheș Cătălin Cherecheș (born July 7, 1978) is a Romanian politician who is currently serving as mayor of Baia Mare since 2011. Biography Between 2005 and 2007, Cherecheș was the vice president and spokesperson of the Maramureș County organizatio ...
was elected Mayor of Baia Mare, automatically vacating her seat in the Chamber of Deputies, Maramureș County constituency 2. The by-election on 21 August saw
Florin Tătaru Florin-Cristian Tătaru (born December 5, 1967) is a Romanian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he has represented Maramureș County in the Chamber of Deputies since 2011. Biography Born in Baia Mare, he attended an ar ...
of the Social Liberal Union elected. On 30 August 2011,
Zoltán Pálfi Zoltán () is a Hungarian masculine given name. The name days for this name are 8 March and 23 June in Hungary, and 7 April in Slovakia. Zoltána is the feminine version. Notable people * Zoltán of Hungary * Zoltan Bathory, guitarist of heavy ...
died, vacacting Cluj County constituency 9.


References

{{Authority control Parliamentary elections in Romania Romania Parliament Romania