Bucharest mayor to be elected only by 15% of inhabitants

The voting margin between the two candidates for Bucharest City Hall, Sorin Oprescu – PDSR and Traian Basescu – PD, was extremely narrow at the edition’s close, according to preliminary evaluations.

Bucharest inhabitants and residents of over 2,000 localities yesterday were called to elect their new mayors, but vote attendance was only slightly higher than two weeks ago, on the first round of elections.

In Bucharest, at 18.00 hours, the Municipal Electoral Bureau (BEM) had evaluated a voting attendance of 27.3 percent, as compared to the 25.48 percent registered in the first round at 19.00 hours. According to sectors, Bucharest inhabitants had voted as follows: 29 percent in sector 1, 26.8 percent in sector 2, 26.9 percent in sector 3, 27.8 percent in sector 4, 24.2 percent in sector 5 and 28.4 percent in sector 6. On June 4, vote attendance was 2-3% lower. People in Transilvania did not show up in large numbers either. In Harghita county, at 16.00 hours, only 12 percent of Miercurea Ciuc residents had voted, as compared to 25% on June 4. On the other hand, in Cluj, at 16,00 hours, vote attendance was of 40 percent, as compared to the 35 percent posted two weeks ago.

The Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) complained at the Municipal Electoral Bureau (BEM) about the existence of several inscriptions with the PD (Democrat Party) candidate Traian Basescu on the ballot boxes at voting sections number 924 and 925. According to BEM vice president Dan Chiujdea, there were several inscriptions on the ballot, but they had been covered with sheets of paper by the bureau’s members. Ion Iliescu’s party also noticed that the Romanian Television (TVR) allowed certain political leaders to publicly state their electoral options, which could influence the voters, according to PDSR members. Another complaint pointed to the fact that in Baneasa and Gara de Nord areas a lot of people were voting while “transiting” the city, as they were in fact, according to PDSR, “travellers manipulated by well instructed persons.” This notification was rejected by BEM as there were not sufficient data to support the hypothesis of a crime.

In its turn, PD protested against continuing the electoral campaign on the very day of the ballot. The Democrats claimed that a car with registration number B-12-VSX was seen around voting sections number 806 and 814 located in School number 141. From that car electors in Bucharest were urged, by means of loudspeakers, to vote for Sorin Oprescu.

The Democrats also stated that, according to a story broadcast by Antena 1, all patients admitted in N. Bagdasar Hospital were voting there, irrespective of their home address. According to Chiujdea, the information was false.

The Democrat Party also submitted a complaint to the Central Electoral Bureau and to the National Council for Radio and Television, claiming that Antena 1 television station infringed the electoral law by broadcasting certain opinion polls as well as political comments upon these polls during the elections day.

In the country, the ballot developed with fewer incidents than the last time. Constanta citizens from offshore platforms voted late, as the ship carrying the mobile ballot box posted a delay because of the storm. Confusion continued to rule in Bucharest hospitals: wherever the mobile ballot boxes arrived before 14.00 hours, the patients could cast their votes irrespective of their sector of residence. In hospitals where the boxes arrived later, only people residing in the same sector as the sanitary unit had the right to vote.