Basescu declared winner of Romania's presidential run-off
Basescu declared winner of Romania's presidential run-off
09:09, December 08, 2009 
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Romania's incumbent President Traian Basescu won 50.33 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential run-off, according to provisional final results released by the Central Election Bureau on Monday.
Romania's incumbent President Traian Basescu addresses his supporters at Democratic-Liberal Party's headquarters in Bucharest Dec. 6, 2009. (Xinhua/Agerpres)
Social Democratic leader Mircea Geoana garnered 49.57 percent, according to the bureau, which announced the results after all ballots have been counted.
Basescu was leading by only 70,000 ballots in the run-off, according to the results. Voter turnout was 58.02 percent.
The bureau is most likely to announce its final results on Wednesday, a spokesman has said.
Basescu is endorsed by the ruling Democratic-Liberal Party, while Geoana, a candidate of the Social Democratic Party-Conservative Party Alliance, also enjoys the support of several opposition parties in parliament.
According to an exit poll announced by pollster Insomar on Sunday evening, Geoana won 51.6 percent of the vote, while Basescu trailed with around 48.4 percent.
Another exit pollster, the Company for Sociological Research and Branding (CCSB), gave Geoana a 2.4-percentage lead over Basescu, while a CURS exit poll put the figure at 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent in favor of Geoana. A CSOP poll showed the vote was tied at 50-50.
Romania has been in the hands of a caretaker government since mid-October, when its democrat liberal government was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament and Basescu failed to push through parliament his nominations for a new prime minister.
Sunday's presidential run-off has been widely seen as crucial for Romania. The winner will have to move quickly to name a new prime minister and solve a political crisis that has made international donors postpone a massive aid package to the country-- the third installment of a 20-billion-euro (29.65 billion U.S. dollar) bailout package led by the International Monetary Fund.
Source: Xinhua
Romania's incumbent President Traian Basescu addresses his supporters at Democratic-Liberal Party's headquarters in Bucharest Dec. 6, 2009. (Xinhua/Agerpres)
Social Democratic leader Mircea Geoana garnered 49.57 percent, according to the bureau, which announced the results after all ballots have been counted.
Basescu was leading by only 70,000 ballots in the run-off, according to the results. Voter turnout was 58.02 percent.
The bureau is most likely to announce its final results on Wednesday, a spokesman has said.
Basescu is endorsed by the ruling Democratic-Liberal Party, while Geoana, a candidate of the Social Democratic Party-Conservative Party Alliance, also enjoys the support of several opposition parties in parliament.
According to an exit poll announced by pollster Insomar on Sunday evening, Geoana won 51.6 percent of the vote, while Basescu trailed with around 48.4 percent.
Another exit pollster, the Company for Sociological Research and Branding (CCSB), gave Geoana a 2.4-percentage lead over Basescu, while a CURS exit poll put the figure at 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent in favor of Geoana. A CSOP poll showed the vote was tied at 50-50.
Romania has been in the hands of a caretaker government since mid-October, when its democrat liberal government was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament and Basescu failed to push through parliament his nominations for a new prime minister.
Sunday's presidential run-off has been widely seen as crucial for Romania. The winner will have to move quickly to name a new prime minister and solve a political crisis that has made international donors postpone a massive aid package to the country-- the third installment of a 20-billion-euro (29.65 billion U.S. dollar) bailout package led by the International Monetary Fund.
Source: Xinhua
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