Opposition wins EU elections in Romania[fr][de] 

The Democratic Party, associated with President Traian Basescu, finished first in this Sunday's election, taking 29.2% of the vote, followed by the former communist Social Democrat Party with 21.7%.

The results come as a disappointment for Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu's centrist Liberals, who only managed to win 13.2% of the ballot. The vote is also seen as a test case ahead of Romania's general elections, set to take place in 2008.

Members of the EPP-ED group said they were "thrilled" with their sister party's (the Democrat Party) results. Group leader Joseph Daul stated: "These elections mark a watershed in relations between Bucharest and Brussels. Romania has a significant part to play in the development of the EU."

However, the European ballot failed to mobilise Romanians, with a low voter turnout of only 30%. A referendum to change the electoral system on the same day was invalidated as it failed to attract the required 50% threshold. 

Less than 30% of those eligible to vote turned up at the ballot box. However, a strong majority of 82% of those who cast their vote were in favour of the change, according to the Central Electoral Bureau.

According to Romania's EU Accession Treaty, the citizens must elect their 35 representatives before the end of 2007. Up to now, their MEPs had been nominated by the Romanian Parliament on a temporary basis. The newly elected representatives will only serve two years, until the next EU-wide European elections in June 2009.

The elections were originally scheduled for May this year, but were postponed due to an internal political row (see EurActiv 13/03/2007). Since joining the EU this year, Romania has been shaken by political infighting, triggered by a rivalry between the country's Prime Minister Calin Popescu and President Traian Basescu.

Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering "warmly welcomed" the new MEPs, describing their election as "an important day for Romania". Although he regretted the low turn-out, he hoped that their positive contribution would "improve voter participation in future elections". 

"I wish them every success in the coming one-and-a-half years of their mandate", Pöttering added. He also took the opportunity to thank the outgoing Romanian members who had been sitting in the European Parliament since 2005 "for their hard work and dedication to the European project".