ROMANIA'S EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION RESULTS

UNCLAS BUCHAREST 000390

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/CE ASCHEIBE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA'S EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION RESULTS


1. (U) The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) on June 8 announced
the results of the European Parliamentary (EP) elections held
in Romania on Sunday, June 7. The PSD and PC coalition led
the PDL by just over a percentage point (30.07-29.71). PNL
came in at 14.52, PRM 8.65 and independent (and President
Basescu's modeling daughter) Elena Basescu at 4.22 percent.
The ethnic Hungarian party UDMR garnered 8.92 percent.
Various exit polls, including INSOMAR, came in with similar
figures that were within the margin of error. It appears
that right-wing xenophobic politicians Vadim Tudor and Gigi
Becali will succeed in their respective bids to join the
European Parliament (as will Elena Basescu, who as an
independent under current rules would lose her spot if she
decides to rejoin her father's party, the PDL). Prominent
and respected politicians like former PSD Foreign Minister
Adrian Severin, PDL leaders Theodor Stolojan, Monica Macovei,
Traian Ungureanu and Cristian Preda were successful in their
bids, as were PNL's Norica Nicolai and Renate Weber. UDMR's
Laszlo Tokes and Iuliu Winkler also made the list.


2. (SBU) There was palpable voter apathy for these EP
elections. Preliminary estimates put voter turnout at around
27.4% (about 4.6 million voters). The fact that the
elections were held on the Sunday before "Rusalli"
(Pentecost) Monday, when many Romanians take advantage of the
three-day weekend to get out of town, assured a lower voter
turnout, adding to the political fatigue that has affected
Romanians across the board. The apathy was more pronounced
in urban than in rural areas in general. There are some
indications that the rural voter turnout actually increased
slightly over the 2007 EP elections, which probably accounts
for PSD's stronger showing over the PDL. One exception was
that support for Elena Basescu was apparently more heavily
urban than rural. One observer from the newspaper "Romania
Libera" described the election as the lowest voter turnout
since the fall of communism.


3. (SBU) Comment: There is some surprise at Becali's and
Vadim Tudor's success in the results. Most people do not
take either of these iconoclastic personalities seriously.
Some saw Elena Basescu's electoral run as a field test of the
popularity of the Basescu name. With the EP elections out of
the way, the field is now cleared for the fall presidential
race to take center stage in earnest. Mission will report in
greater depth on lessons learned from the EP elections
septel. End comment.
GUTHRIE-CORN