Romanian elections hit by fraud claims

Romania’s opposition leader called for the results of the weekend parliamentary and presidential elections to be annulled today and for a rerun to be held, claiming fraud.

Traian Basescu, who heads the centrist Justice and Truth Alliance and is running for president, claimed that election authorities had given an extra 160,000 ballots, or 2.5% of the votes, to his rival, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase.

“We have no doubt this is fraud. We want the immediate dismissal of election authorities,” Basescu said. “The entire electoral process is compromised. The repetition of the election is necessary.”

Almost complete results released today showed the governing party in the lead in the parliamentary race, but without enough votes to form a government.

A run-off for the presidential race, which was also close, has been announced for December 12.

“I am no longer just fighting for the presidency, but to restore democracy in Romania. I am asking for international help.”