by EUDO CITIZENSHIP expert Costica Dumbrava

Traian Basescu won the second round of the Romanian 2009 presidential election by a margin of 71.000 votes after receiving 115.831 of the votes cast abroad (78.86 percent of the total). The support for Basescu was overwhelming in the Republic of Moldova, where he received 94.8 percent of the votes cast (around 10.000 preferences). This outcome demonstrates the political consequences of recent administrative efforts to speed up the process of granting Romanian citizenship to ‘former citizens’ from Moldova (see our recent EUDO CITIZENSHIP news report ‘Romania: former citizens, new citizens, new votes?’). The election results have triggered strong political reactions, with some political actors already calling for measures to downsize the weight of the ‘external votes’.

 

Read the news reports in English and Romanian:

‘Romania’s presidential election. Against all odds’, The Economist

‘Rezultate finale : Băsescu câştigă cu 71 de mii de voturi’, Inpactnews.ro

‘UPDATE: Votul diasporei’, Hotnews.ro