1990 Romanian general election

Last updated

1990 Romanian general election
Flag of Romania.svg
20 May 1990
Presidential election
  1985
1992  
  Ion Iliescu (2004).jpg Radu Campeanu.jpg Ion Ratiu.jpg
Nominee Ion Iliescu Radu Câmpeanu Ion Rațiu
Party FSN PNL PNȚCD
Popular vote12,232,4981,529,188617,007
Percentage85.07%10.64%4.29%

1990 Romanian presidential election.svg

President before election

Ion Iliescu
FSN

Elected President

Ion Iliescu
FSN

Parliamentary election
  1985
1992  

All 119 seats in the Senate
All 396 seats in the Assembly of Deputies
PartyLeader%Seats
Assembly of Deputies
FSN Ion Iliescu 66.31263
UDMR Géza Domokos7.2329
PNL Radu Câmpeanu 6.4129
MER Toma George Maiorescu2.6212
PNȚCD Corneliu Coposu 2.5612
AUR 2.129
PDAR Victor Surdu 1.839
PER Otto Weber 1.698
PSDR (Socialist) Cornel Nica1.055
PSDR (Social) Sergiu Cunescu 0.532
GDC 0.482
PDM 0.381
PLS Ștefan Cazimir0.341
PRN 0.321
PTLDR 0.321
UL–B 0.271
Minority parties 0.9911
Senate
FSN Ion Iliescu 67.0291
UDMR Géza Domokos7.2012
PNL Radu Câmpeanu 7.0610
PNȚCD Corneliu Coposu 2.501
MER Toma George Maiorescu2.451
AUR 2.152
PER Otto Weber 1.381
Independents Antonie Iorgovan 3.061
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
1990 Romanian Chamber of Deputies election.svg 1990 Romanian Senate election.svg
The results for the Assembly of Deputies and for the Senate
Prime Minister before Prime Minister-designate
Petre Roman 1989.jpg Petre Roman
FSN
Petre Roman
FSN
Petre Roman 1989.jpg

General elections were held in Romania on 20 May 1990 to elect the President and members of Parliament. [1] They were the first elections held after the overthrow of the communist regime six months earlier and the first free elections held in the country since 1937. [2] It was also the first time the president had been directly elected, [1] the position having been previously elected by the legislature since it was introduced in 1974. [3]

Contents

The National Salvation Front (FSN), which had headed the interim government that took power after the overthrow of Nicolae Ceaușescu, won a decisive victory. Opposition parties performed well below expectations; none of them had the time or resources to present themselves as alternatives to the FSN. [4] Interim President and FSN leader Ion Iliescu was elected for a full term with 85 percent of the vote. The 1990 Romanian presidential election was the first of its kind held in post-1989 Romania. The FSN also won large majorities in both houses of Parliament, with 263 of the 395 seats in the Assembly of Deputies and 91 of the 118 seats in the Senate.

The United States State Department expressed concerns about organised violence and polling irregularities, but concluded that they had had no effect on the outcome and pronounced the elections free and fair. [5]

To date, this is the only time since direct presidential elections were introduced that a president has been elected without the need for a runoff. Iliescu's 85 percent vote share also remains the highest for a direct presidential election.

Presidential candidates

NameLifespanPublic Administration ExperienceAffiliation and endorsements Alma mater and professionCandidacy
Announcement dates
Born: March 3, 1930
(age 60)
Oltenița, Călărași County
Acting President of Romania: 1989–election day
President of Water Surfaces Management Council (1979–1984)
Member of the State Council (full member: 1979–1980, observative: 1974–1979)
President of Iași County Council (1974–1979)
Vice-president of Timiș County Council (1971–1974)
Minister of Youth (1967–1971)
Deputy (1957–1961, 1965–1973, 1975–1985)
Affiliation: FSN Energy Institute, Moscow State University (1954)

fluid mechanics engineer,
publishing house manager
Official: April 8, 1990 [6]
BEC filing: April 17, 1990 [7]
Born: February 28, 1922
(age 68)
Bucharest
Died October 19, 2016, Bucharest
Affiliation: PNL
Endorsed by UDMR and PER
Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest (1945)
Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Bucharest (1947)

economist
BEC filing: April 19, 1990 [8]
Born: June 6, 1917
(age 72)
Turda, Cluj County
Died: January 17, 2000, London
Chancellor at Romanian Embassy in UK (1940)Affiliation: PNȚCD
Endorsed by: PSDR
Faculty of Law, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca (1938)
Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge (1943)

lawyer, economist, journalist
Official: April 6, 1990 [9]
BEC filing: April 23, 1990

Results

President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Ion Iliescu National Salvation Front 12,232,49885.07
Radu Câmpeanu National Liberal Party 1,529,18810.64
Ion Rațiu Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party 617,0074.29
Total14,378,693100.00
Valid votes14,378,69396.98
Invalid/blank votes447,9233.02
Total votes14,826,616100.00
Registered voters/turnout17,200,72286.20
Source: AEP

Parliament

Senate

Senate results Romanian legislative election 1990 - Senate.svg
Senate results
Romania Senate 1990.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
National Salvation Front 9,353,00667.0291
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania 1,004,3537.2012
National Liberal Party 985,0947.0610
Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party 348,6872.501
Ecological Movement of Romania 341,4782.451
Alliance for Romanian Unity 300,4732.152
Democratic Agrarian Party of Romania 221,7901.590
Ecologist Party of Romania 192,5741.381
Romanian Socialist Democratic Party 152,9891.100
Romanian Social Democratic Party 69,7620.500
Democratic Group of the Centre 65,4400.470
National Reconstruction Party 52,4650.380
Party of Free Change 46,2470.330
Democratic Party of Labour 44,3600.320
Liberal Union–Brătianu 35,9430.260
Party of Young Free Democrats 32,5060.230
Cooperatist Party22,8690.160
Christian Democratic Union21,2100.150
Democratic Union of the Roma of Romania 19,8470.140
Democratic Forum of Germans 19,1050.140
Liberal Party of Freedom of Romania14,5460.100
Democratic Environmentalist Party14,4960.100
Party of Democratic Unity14,0690.100
Party of Democratic Unity of Moldova13,1110.090
Party of Labour11,3970.080
Republican Christian Party11,0450.080
Grouping of the Centre 'New Romania'9,4050.070
Humanistic Ecological Party - founded in Arad8,8880.060
Turkish Muslim Democratic Union 8,4890.060
Union of the Ukrainians of Romania 8,3100.060
Party Christian Orthodox Union7,3240.050
Democratic Union 'Tara Oasului'7,1810.050
Party of Christian Union of Romania7,0450.050
Romanian Christian Social Democratic Party6,9640.050
Party of the Gypsies of Romania5,5650.040
Party of Social Justice5,3440.040
Party Alliance for Democracy4,9580.040
Party of Labour and Social Justice of Romania4,4900.030
Romanian Party for a New Society3,8600.030
Romanian Peasant Party3,5470.030
Republican Union Party3,2800.020
Party for National and Democratic Reconstruction3,2280.020
Democratic Party of Cluj2,7510.020
Radical Democratic Party2,6000.020
Free Democratic Union of Roma of Romania2,5050.020
Romanian Popular Front of National Salvation1,6600.010
Association of Former Political Prisoners/Detainees and Victims of the Dictatorship in Romania1,6130.010
Humanitarian Party of Peace1,5990.010
Constitutional Democratic Party of Romania1,2240.010
Party for the Honouring of the Heroes of the Revolution and National Salvation1,0890.010
Romanian National Party1,0190.010
Party Democratic Future of the Motherland1,0080.010
Democratic Progressive Party9140.010
Union of Poles of Romania 8480.010
National Republican Party7540.010
Workers Alliance 'Freedom' Anticommunist and Antifascist6720.000
National Progressive Party6340.000
Party of the Romanian House of Democratic Europe5530.000
Movement 'Young Democracy'4620.000
Independents427,5353.061
Total13,956,180100.00119
Valid votes13,956,18094.13
Invalid/blank votes869,5845.87
Total votes14,825,764100.00
Registered voters/turnout17,200,72286.19
Source: AEP

Assembly of Deputies

Assembly of Deputies results Romanian legislative election 1990 - Deputees.svg
Assembly of Deputies results
Romania Parliament 1990.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
National Salvation Front 9,089,65966.31263
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania 991,6017.2329
National Liberal Party 879,2906.4129
Ecological Movement of Romania 358,8642.6212
Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party 351,3572.5612
Alliance for Romanian Unity 290,8752.129
Democratic Agrarian Party of Romania 250,4031.839
Ecologist Party of Romania 232,2121.698
Romanian Socialist Democratic Party 143,3931.055
Romanian Social Democratic Party 73,0140.532
Democratic Group of the Centre 65,9140.482
Democratic Party of Labour 52,5950.381
Party of Free Change 47,0170.341
National Reconstruction Party 43,8080.321
Party of Young Free Democrats 43,1880.321
Democratic Forum of Germans 38,7680.281
Liberal Union–Brătianu 36,8690.271
Democratic Union of the Roma of Romania 29,1620.211
Democratic Environmentalist Party26,0580.190
Cooperatist Party24,7490.180
Christian Democratic Union24,0010.180
United Democratic Party of the Roma Woodworkers and Fiddlers in Romania21,8470.160
Romanian Peasant Party21,5880.160
Liberal Party of Freedom of Romania20,7440.150
Community of the Lipovan Russians 17,9740.131
Party Christian Orthodox Union17,5210.130
Socialist Party of Justice17,4840.130
Party of the Gypsies of Romania16,8650.120
Party of Democratic Unity from Moldova16,8630.120
Party of Democratic Unity16,3540.120
Union of the Ukrainians of Romania 16,1790.121
Party of Christian Union14,9020.110
Humanistic Ecological Party12,7390.090
Romanian Party for the New Society12,3050.090
Party of Labour10,7440.080
Democratic Union of the Serbs of Romania 9,0950.071
Grouping of the Centre 'New Romania'9,0730.070
Christian Republican Party8,9390.070
Turkish Muslim Democratic Union 8,6000.061
Democratic Christian Party of the Roma of Romania7,9390.060
Party Alliance for Democracy6,6950.050
Democratic Union 'Țara Oasului'6,2150.050
Romanian Social Democratic Christian Party6,1940.050
Romanian Popular Front of National Salvation5,2080.040
Hellenic Union of Romania 4,9320.041
Free Democratic Union of Roma in Romania4,6050.030
Democratic Union of Slovaks and Czechs of Romania 4,5840.031
National Romanian Party3,9830.030
Bulgarian Union of Banat – Bulgarian Cultural Association from Bucharest 3,4510.031
Radical Democratic Party3,2400.020
Party for National and Democratic Reconstruction3,2230.020
Republican Union Party2,6930.020
Independent Hungarian Party2,5780.020
Modern Democratic Movement2,4880.020
Union of Poles of Romania 2,3720.021
Forum of Democracy and National Unity of Romania2,1760.020
Party of Labour and Social Justice of Romania2,1460.020
Party of the Democratic Future of the Motherland2,0910.020
Party of Social Justice (New Democracy) of the North West of Romania2,0730.020
National Republican Party1,6100.010
Progressive Democratic Party1,4950.010
Association of Former Political Prisoners/Detainees and Victims of the Dictatorship in Romania1,4040.010
National Progressive Party1,1160.010
Democratic Constitutional Party of Romania9460.010
Party for the Honouring of the Heroes of the Revolution and National Salvation8910.010
Democratic Party of Cluj4250.000
Union of Armenians of Romania 3990.001
Party of the Romanian House of Democratic Europe3900.000
Movement 'Young Democracy'3280.000
Independents256,6561.870
Total13,707,159100.00396
Valid votes13,707,15992.46
Invalid/blank votes1,117,8587.54
Total votes14,825,017100.00
Registered voters/turnout17,200,72286.19
Source: AEP

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ion Iliescu</span> Romanian politician (born 1930)

Ion Iliescu is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu was a senator for the Social Democratic Party (PSD), of which he is the founder and honorary president to this day.

After the Communist rulership ended and the former Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was executed in the midst of the bloody Romanian Revolution of December 1989, the National Salvation Front (FSN) seized power, led by Ion Iliescu. The FSN transformed itself into a massive political party in short time and overwhelmingly won the general election of May 1990, with Iliescu as president. These first months of 1990 were marked by violent protests and counter-protests, involving most notably the tremendously violent and brutal coal miners of the Jiu Valley which were called by Iliescu himself and the FSN to crush peaceful protesters in the University Square in Bucharest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR (TV network)</span> Public television broadcaster in Romania

Televiziunea Română, more commonly referred to as TVR, is the short name for Societatea Română de Televiziune, the Romanian public television. It operates seven channels: TVR 1, TVR 2, TVR 3, TVR Cultural, TVR Folclor, TVR Info, TVRi, TVR Moldova and TVR Sport along with six regional studios in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Timișoara, Craiova and Târgu Mureș.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petre Roman</span> Prime Minister of Romania between 1989 and 1991

Petre Roman is a Romanian engineer and politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from 1989 to 1991, when his government was overthrown by the intervention of the miners led by Miron Cozma in the September 1991 Mineriad. Although regarded as the first Romanian prime minister since 1945 who was not a communist or communist sympathiser, he was a socialist. He was also the president of the Senate from 1996 to 1999 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2000.

This article gives an overview of liberalism and radicalism in Romania. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in this scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it is not necessary for a party to have actually labeled itself as a liberal party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Romanian general election</span>

General elections were held in Romania on 27 September 1992, with a second round of the presidential election on 11 October. They were the first held after the adoption of a permanent constitution via a referendum held the previous winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golaniad</span>

The Golaniad was a protest in Romania in the University Square, Bucharest. It was initiated by students and professors at the University of Bucharest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Salvation Front (Romania)</span> Political party in Romania

The National Salvation Front was the most important political organization formed during the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, which became the governing body of Romania in the first weeks after the collapse of the totalitarian communist regime. It subsequently became a political party, the largest post-communist party, and won the 1990 election with 66% of the national vote, under the leadership of then-President Ion Iliescu, who was elected with 85% of the vote.

The June 1990 Mineriad was the suppression of anti-National Salvation Front (FSN) rioting in Bucharest, Romania by the physical intervention of groups of industrial workers as well as coal miners from the Jiu Valley, brought to Bucharest by the government to counter the rising violence of the protesters. This event occurred several weeks after the FSN achieved a landslide victory in the May 1990 general election, the first elections after the fall of the communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Many of the miners, factory workers, and other anti-protester groups, fought with the protesters and bystanders. The violence resulted in some deaths and many injuries on both sides of the confrontations. Official figures listed seven fatalities and hundreds of injured, although media estimates of the number killed and injured varied widely and were often much higher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ion Rațiu</span>

Ion Rațiu was a Romanian lawyer, diplomat, journalist, businessman, writer, and politician. In addition, he was the official presidential candidate of the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚCD) in the 1990 Romanian presidential election in which he subsequently finished third, behind the neo-communist Ion Iliescu of the National Salvation Front (FSN) and Radu Câmpeanu of the National Liberal Party (PNL), with only 617,007 votes.

Radu was, according to Ion Mihai Pacepa, a radiological weapon used against dissenters and critics by Nicolae Ceaușescu's Securitate. "Radu" is a Romanian name and in this context it is a reference to "radiation". The supposed weapon was intended to lead to cancer which would result in death within months after the exposure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radu Câmpeanu</span> Romanian politician

Radu-Anton Câmpeanu was a Romanian politician who was also jurist and economist by profession, after graduating from the University of Bucharest (UB) in November 1945, specializing in constitutional right. During the interwar period and up until 1945, he was the leader of the National Liberal students' association at nationwide level.

Parliamentary elections were held in Romania on 17 March 1985. The Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy (FDUS), dominated by the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) and including other mass organisations, was the only group to contest the elections, and no prospective candidate could run for office without the Front's approval. Consequently, FDUS candidates won all 369 seats in the Great National Assembly, also ensuring the rubber-stamp confirmation of Nicolae Ceaușescu as President of Romania. The Assembly which elected him included several members of the Ceaușescu family, namely his wife Elena, son Nicu, and brother Ilie. Continuity was also ensured by other incumbents, including Nicolae Giosan as Assembly chairman and Constantin Dăscălescu as Prime Minister.

This is a list of 1990 events that occurred in Romania.

Marțian Dan was a Romanian politician and university professor.

Radu Simion was a virtuoso pan flute player and a Romanian leader of the orchestra.

An election was held in Romania for the presidency of the Provisional Council of National Unity (CPUN) on 13 February 1990. Ion Iliescu was elected by the as the body's president — hence as acting/ad interim President of Romania — in a meeting held on 13 February 1990. During that meeting, the CPUN also chose its Executive Office members. Nevertheless, the vote count was never published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provisional Council of National Unity</span> Provisional government body in Romania of the early 1990s

The Provisional Council of National Unity was a provisional governmental body during the early 1990s in Romania. At that time, it was headed by Ion Iliescu of the National Salvation Front (FSN) along with a wide range of vice-presidents which also stemmed from various other political parties which acceded to the Romanian Parliament at that time, most notably Radu Câmpeanu, the first post-1989 president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), who was also vice-president of the Senate at the time.

The National Liberal Ecologist Alliance was a minor political and electoral alliance in Romania which was formed in 1996 by the National Liberal Party–Câmpeanu and the Green Party. PNL-C was a breakaway national liberal political party from the main National Liberal Party (PNL).

References

  1. 1 2 Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1591 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Romanians Hope Free Elections Mark Revolution's Next Stage. Chicago Tribune . 30 March 1990.
  3. Romania: Central Government Library of Congress Country Studies
  4. "Front In Romania Seems Victorious In Free Elections". The New York Times . 21 May 1990.
  5. "Romanian Election Is Valid Despite Flaws, U.S. Declares". The New York Times . 26 May 1990.
  6. "Stiri.tvr.ro - Site-ul de stiri al TVR". Stiri.tvr.ro.
  7. "17 aprilie 1990, data la care a fost depusă prima candidatură la alegerile prezidențiale din România după căderea lui Nicolae Ceaușescu". Europa FM. April 17, 2019.
  8. "Radu Câmpeanu, campanie mai mult afară decât în ţară". jurnalul.ro.
  9. "Ion Raţiu – candidatul ţărănist la Preşedinţie". jurnalul.ro.