POST-REVOLUTION ROMANIA: First free election of 20 May 1990

On 20 May 1990, 30 years ago, the first presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Romania, after the fall of the communist regime and after the December 1989 Revolution. Presidential and parliamentary elections were held on the basis of Decree-Law No. 92/1990, voted on 14 March 1990 by the Provisional Council of National Union (CPUN), provisional governing body, established after the fall of the communist regime. The Decree-Law No. 92 of 14 March 1990 for the election of the Parliament and the President of Romania included in the same legislative text both the presidential and parliamentary elections. The last article of the Decree-Law repeals the Electoral Law of the Socialist Republic of Romania No. 67/1974, according to cdep.ro. The day of the two simultaneous elections was thus established by decree for 20 May 1990. The said Decree-Law No. 92/1990 applied only to the first parliamentary and presidential elections, those of 20 May 1990, given that after the adoption of the Constitution in 1991, it was the Parliament that would adopt and draft an electoral law in accordance with the principles and institutions enshrined in the fundamental law. According to the Decree-Law, the Parliament to be elected was a bicameral one made up of the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate, elected by universal, equal, direct, secret and freely expressed suffrage. The two chambers were to be elected on the basis of the vote on party lists, while the allocation of mandates was to be made according to the principle of proportional representation (art. 4 of Decree-Law No 92/1990). With regard to the President of Romania, the Decree provided that they were elected by universal, equal, direct and secret suffrage, freely expressed. The age condition for running and being elected to the highest office in the state was 30 years. Validation of the election of the President shall be made by the Supreme Court of Justice in its plenary within 20 days of the date of the elections. According to the Decree, the President of Romania was declared the candidate who held the vote of at least half plus one of the number of voters registered in the electoral lists. If none of the candidates met this majority, a second ballot shall be held between the first two candidates ranked in order of the number of votes obtained. The candidate who, in the second round, obtained the highest number of votes was declared elected. In the first post-communist elections, for the office of president, only the National Salvation Front (FSN), the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Christian Democrat Peasants National Party (PNTCD) promoted presidential candidates: Ion Iliescu (FSN), Radu Campeanu (PNL) and Ion Ratiu (PNTCD). Ion Iliescu got elected in the first round. As many as 5,700 applications for the Assembly of Deputies and 1,580 for the Senate were submitted. As independents, 212 people submitted their applications for the Assembly of Deputies and 126 for the Senate. Furthermore, 71 political formations submitted their candidacies to the first elections in May 1990, among which: National Salvation Front (DSN), the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR), the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Ecologist Movement of Romania (MER), the National Christian Democrat Peasants Party (PNTCD), the Alliance for Romanians Unity - Romanian National Unity Party of Transylvania and Republican Party (AUR - PUNR and PR) , the Agrarian Democratic Party of Romania (PDAR), the Romanian Ecologist Party (PER), the Romanian Democratic Socialist Party (PSD), the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR), the Centre Democratic Group, the National Reconstruction Party of Romania (PRN), the Free Change Party (PLS), the Labour Democratic Party (PDM), the Bratianu Liberal Union (ULB), the Free Democratic Youth Party of Romania, the Cooperative Party, the Christian Democratic Union, the Roma Democratic Union of Romania (UDRR), the German Democratic Forum (FDG), the Armenian Union of Romania, The Bulgarian Cultural Association of Bucharest, the Democratic Union of Serbs in Romania, the Democratic Union of Slovaks and Czechs in Romania, the Hellenic Union of Romania, the Forum of Democracy and National Unity in Romania (FDUNR), etc., writes Cristian Preda in the article "Parties, votes and mandates in the Romanian elections (1990-2012)" ("Studia Politica: Romanian Political Science Review", 2013). The number of voters who went to the polls on 20 May 1990 was 14,826,616 out of the total of 17,200,722 registered on the lists, i.e. 86.19pct of the electorate, according to the election result published in the Official Journal of 8 June 1990. According to the law, 42 electoral districts were organized for each county and the municipality of Bucharest, as well as 12,630 polling stations. At the same time, 360 foreign observers were accredited to follow the entire electoral process. For the FSN candidate, Ion Iliescu, 12,232,498 votes were cast, representing 85.07pct. For Radu Campeanu, the PNL candidate, 1,529,188 people voted, respectively 10.64pct, and for Ion Ratiu, the PNTCD candidate, voted 617,007 electors (4.29pct of the electorate), according to http://www.roaep.ro/. Of the total number of voters, 17,200,722, on 20 May 1990 as many as 14,825,017 went to the polls. The number of valid votes cast throughout the country was 13,707,159, while the number of null votes was 1,117,858, according to the results of the Official Journal. In the Senate, the National Salvation Front (FSN) obtained 67.02pct of the total number of valid votes cast and 91 seats; the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) - 7.20pct and 12 mandates; the National Liberal Party (PNL) - 7.06pct and 10 seats; the Christian Democratic Peasants National Party (PNTCD) - 2.50pct and one seat; the Ecologist Movement of Romania (MER) - 2.45pct and one mandate; the National Union Party of Romanians and Republican Party (PUNR&PR) - 2.15pct and two mandates; the Romanian Ecologist Party (PER) - 1.38pct and one term; a mandate was occupied by an independent (Antonie Iorgovan). At the Assembly of Deputies, the FSN obtained 66.31pct of the valid votes cast and 263 seats; the UDMR - 7.23pct and 29 mandates; the PNL - 6.41pct and 29 seats; the MER - 2.62pct and 12 mandates; the PNTCD - 2.56pct and 12 mandates; the PUNR&PR - 2.12pct and nine seats; the Democratic Agrarian Party of Romania (PDAR) - 1.83pct and nine seats; the PER - 1.69pct and eight mandates; the Romanian Democratic Socialist Party - 1.05pct and five mandates, etc. In addition to the above mentioned, one mandate was given to the organizations of the national minorities, other than the Hungarian one, 11 in number: the Community of the Lipovans in Romania, the Democratic Forum of the Germans in Romania, the Union of the Armenians in Romania, the Bulgarian Union of Banat - Bulgarian Cultural Association of Bucharest, the Democratic Union of Serbs in Romania, the Democratic Union of Slovaks and Czechs in Romania, the Turkish Moslem Democratic Union of Romania, the Hellenic Union of Romania, the Democratic Union of Roma in Romania, the Union of Poles of Romania "Dom Polski", the Union of Ukrainians in Romania, is shown in the Official Journal. This first post-communist parliament counted for 515 members, including 396 deputies (387 elected and 9 appointed by national minorities) and 119 senators (118 representing a political formation and one independent). The term of office of this Parliament was held for two years, from 1990 to 1992, and it functioned as the Constituent Assembly. The elected senators and deputies met for the first time in separate working sessions on 9 June 1990. The leaderships of the two chambers were elected on 18 and 19 June 1990: Alexandru Barladeanu - President of the Senate, respectively Dan Martian - President of the Assembly of Deputies. The first Parliament drafted the country's fundamental law. The Constitution was adopted on 21 November 1991 and approved by national referendum on 8 December, the same year. The electoral moment of 20 May 1990 was a special one, it made the transition from the communist regime before 1989 to the democratic one. Both the mandate of the President of Romania and the mandates of the parliamentarians elected on 20 May 1990 were held for two years, during the Constituent Assembly, as stipulated in the Electoral Law.AGERPRES(Documentary desk - Ionela Gavril, Irina Andreea Cristea; editor: Mariana Zbora-Ciurel; EN - author: Maria Voican, editor: Simona Iacob)