Financiarul

Six political parties, an electoral alliance and two independent candidates try their luck in Sunday’s Euro-parliamentary elections, seeking to represent Romania in the European legislative body. June 7 European elections’ stake is represented by the 33 mandates which Romania will hold in the European Parliament.

Representatives of PD-L (Democratic Liberal Party, in ruling coalition), PNL (National Liberal Party, in opposition), UDMR (Hungarians Democratic Union of Romania, in opposition), PRM (Greater Romania Party), PNTCD (Christian-Democratic National Peasant Party ) and Civic Force, as well as representatives of the PSD+PC Alliance (Social Democratic Party + Conservative Party, in ruling coalition) and two independent candidates: Elena Basescu, and Pavel Abraham have entered the electoral race, targeting an Euro-parliamentary seat.

PD-L opens the list with the party’s first vice-president Theodor Stolojan, followed by former Justice minister Monica Macovei, journalist Traian Radu Ungureanu, former presidential adviser Cristian Preda, incumbent MEPs Marian Jean Marinescu, Iosif Matula, Sebastian Bodu, Constantin Luhan, Rares Niculescu, lawyer Oana Antonescu, Constantin Dumitriu, Dragos Florin David, Elvira Andronescu, Alexandru Nazare and Calin Rus.

“The list is a combination of professionalism and capacity to represent Romania’s interest in the EP”, underlined the party’s President Emil Boc, adding that PD-L plans to send as many as possible representatives to the EP and, implicitly, into the Group of the European People’s Party.

The list of the PSD+PC candidates opens with Adrian Severin, followed by Rovana Plumb, Ioan Mircea Pascu, MEPs Adriana Ticau, Daciana Sarbu, Corina Cretu, Victor Bostinaru, Sabin Cutas (PC), Catalin Sorin Ivan.

Other candidates are Viorica Dancila, Minodora Cliveti, Aristide Roibu, Viorel Marian Dragomir, Marius Oprescu, Alin Lucian Antochi, Lucian Balut.

‘We wish to gain 40 percent of the Romanians’ votes and give the European Parliament the best 15 men and women for Romania the Social-Democracy can provide today”, said at the start of the electoral campaign the PSD leader Mircea Geoana, adding that the nomination of the European commissioner for Romania will also depend on the Euro-ballot outcome.

Opening the PNL list of EP candidates is Norica Nicolai, followed by Adina Valean, Renate Weber and Ramona Manescu, the last three of whom being already MEPs.

The remaining places are occupied by Cristian Busoi, Ben-Oli Ardelean, Ovidiu Silaghi, Mogor Csibi, Catalin Turliuc, Cristian Cojocaru, Ionel Muscalu, Iulian Surugiu, Radu Puscariu and Eduard Hellvig.

“We are ready to send this time more Liberal MPs, to successfully represent Romania in Europe”, the PNL leader Crin Antonescu said, specifying that the Liberals are targeting a share of about 20 percent of the votes.

The Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) and the National Council of Hungarians in Transylvania (CNMT) decided to participate together in the European elections, presenting a list of the ‘Hungarian solidarity.’

The list opens with bishop Tokes Laszlo, candidate of the CNMT, followed by Winkler Gyula and Csaba Sogor, both from UDMR, who are also MEPs representing this party.

The fourth place is held by another representative of the National Council of Hungarians in Transylvania, Szilagyi Zsolt, and the fifth place is held by a representative of the UDMR youth organisation, Kovacs Peter.

UDMR President Marko Bela showed optimism as for these elections’ result. “I am confident that this list will enjoy full support from the Hungarians in Romania”, said Marko Bela, adding that a “realistic” variant is the one with three eligible candidates.

Despite its having delayed working out and filing the tickets until the final lap, PRM managed to produce sensation, coming up with a surprise candidate, George Becali, President of PNG-CD.

President of the Greater Romania Party, Corneliu Vadim Tudor, top of the PRM list, announced that businessman Gigi Becali joined his party and would run for the European Parliament on second position on PRM ticket.

Also on the PRM ticket for European Parliament elections are Dan Claudiu Tanasescu, Eugen Mihaescu, Angela Balan, Dumitru Avram and Dan Zamfirescu.

“With or without Gigi Becali we would have entered EP anyway”, said Corneliu Vadim Tudor, confident that PRM has the chance to get at least five EMP mandates.

PNTCD president Marian Petre Milut tops the party’s list of EP candidates. Next come Eugen Moiescu, Florin Diaconu, Mircea Schei, Ana Comanescu, Dorin Caba and Marius Popovici.

“PNTCD candidates in the Euro-parliamentary elections are people with political and economic experience and known at European level as specialists in their fields”, stated Marian Petre Milut, who also said that his party will get without any problems the 50,000 votes needed in order to avoid being left aside, as the Law on political parties stipulates.

At first rejected by the Central Election Bureau (BEC), the ‘Civic Force’ earned its right to run for the EP in the court of justice.

Battling for a seat in the European Parliament on behalf of the Civic Force will be Adrian Stefan Iurascu, Cristian Obrocea, Sergiu Fendrihan, Adrian But and Emil Dumitrescu. The list of the formation comprises 29 names.

President Traian Basescu’s younger daughter, Elena, registered for the race for an EP seat as an independent, collecting 280,000 signatures.

Elena Basescu declared that the frame of mind she set off in the electoral race with was not winning, but the conviction that she had to try. She said she was realistic and fully aware that the “gathered signatures do not necessarily represent the same number of votes”.

Pavel Abraham, former head of the National Anti-drug Agency (ANA), also registered as independent candidate for the European Parliament. He said that he succeeded to “surprise” a lot of people with his candidacy to EP because he was not involved in politics at all.

“I participate on behalf of the civil society. (…) I do not hide that I had talks with representatives of PSD and PD-L at a pretty high level. When I retired in November I said I would enter politics. Maybe, I was lacking inspiration, but I have no regrets.

Afterwards I thought to candidate as an independent and, finally, as a representative of the civil society”, explained Pavel Abraham.

The electoral campaign officially launched on May 8 is to end on June 6, at 7:00 AM.

The candidates, political parties, political and electoral alliances and citizens’ organizations of national minorities have the right during the electoral campaign to freely voice their opinions, without any discrimination, through meetings, marches, gatherings, as well as through mass-media, according to the legal provisions.

This year, Romania organizes EP elections at the same time with the other European Union member states, the ballot being run over June 4-7.

First EP elections were organized in Romania in 2007 and the elected EMPs are holding a two-year mandate because the elections were organized mid-term of the European legislative body, with a five-year mandate.