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{{Politics of Romania}}Presidential elections were held in Romania in 2014. They were the seventh presidential elections held in post-1989 Romania. In the first round of the elections on 2 November, the top two of the fourteen candidates qualified in a run-off on 16 November. These candidates were Victor Ponta, former Prime Minister and ex-leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) who won around 40% of the vote in the first round, and Klaus Iohannis, then mayor of Sibiu () and leader of the Christian Liberal Alliance (ACL), who won around 30% in the first round respectively.WEB,weblink Romania Votes in Presidential Election With Ponta in Lead, Bloomberg, Andra Timu, 2 November 2014, Following large protests on how Ponta's government organized the elections in the diaspora, Klaus Iohannis staged a surprising come-back and won the run-off with 54.5%, or more than a million votes than his contender.Ponta, who had been previously serving as Prime Minister of Romania since May 2012, ran his campaign on promoting an alleged national reconciliation message of a "great union" between all Romanians,WEB,weblink Romania to elect new president after 'wretched' campaign, EUobserver, 14 November 2014, defending his governance as balanced, with both progressive and right-wing measures, and promising to end the "era" established by the then incumbent president, Traian Băsescu. However, his government faced some indirect international criticism, with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland criticizing in October 2014 what she called the "cancer of democratic regression and corruption" in several Central and Southeast Europe nations and with politicians who "protect the corrupt office holders from prosecution and bypass parliament as often as it suits them".WEB,weblink Discurs dur al Victoriei Nuland la adresa liderilor central-europeni: Protejați parlamentarii corupți și demonizaţi societatea civilă, Digi24, 3 October 2014, ro, Iohannis, a Transylvanian Saxon (therefore part of the community of the Germans of Romania), focused his campaign on judicial independence and fiscal relaxation,WEB,weblink DEZBATERE IOHANNIS - PONTA. Cearta pe pensii, salarii, imunitate si votul diasporei. Cine a "castigat" meciul pe internet, 22 November 2014, and promised to promote "Romania of thoroughness" and a "Romania of things well done," while blaming the country's economic and political problems on the regional governance of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the so-called "barons".WEB,weblink Democracy put to the test in Romania, Deutsche Welle, Peter Janku, Robert Schwartz, 1 November 2014, The electoral campaign ran between 3 October and 1 November and was overshadowed by several corruption scandals (Microsoftgate,WEB,weblink 'Microsoftgate' scandal rocks Romania, EurActiv, 3 October 2014, EADS, illegal retrocessions)WEB,weblink Romanian Prime Minister's father-in-law prosecuted in EUR 300 mln illegal forest restitution case, Romania-Insider.com, 16 October 2014, 2 November 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141103083738weblink">weblink 3 November 2014, dead, dmy-all, involving key figures of PSD,WEB,weblink Romania starts corruption investigation of ruling-party bosses, Yahoo! News, Radu-Sorin Marinaș, 20 October 2014, but also the candidate Elena Udrea.WEB,weblink Presa germană aruncă bomba: Candidatul la Președinția Romaniei, Elena Udrea, și persoane de rang înalt din Germania, implicați în scandalul EADS-Microsoft, Jurnalul Național, 28 October 2014, ro, 2 November 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141031220654weblink">weblink 31 October 2014, dead, Outgoing President Traian Băsescu accused Victor Ponta of being an undercover spy, incompatible under the Romanian legislation with a public position, while Klaus Iohannis faced accusations of incompatibility filed by the National Integrity Agency after September, 2013. Following very long voting times and large numbers of people who couldn't vote before the closing of polls in diaspora, large protests were staged in multiple cities across Romania and at Romanian embassies before the second round. This was regarded as both incapacity and unwillingness of Ponta's government to organize fair elections, and led to a surprisingly large turnout of over 64% (largest since 1996), and a surprise win for Iohannis in the second round.

Background

File:Vot și proteste la München 2 noiembrie 2014 Dan Mihai Pitea (1).JPG|thumb|First round of the presidential election at the Romanian General Consulate in MunichMunichTraian Băsescu won the last presidential election in 2009 and was sworn in for his second term on 21 December 2009. According to the Article 83 of the Constitution of Romania, the "term of office of the President of Romania is five years, being exercised from the date the oath was taken,"Constitution of Romania, Article 83 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508185732weblink |date=2018-05-08 }} but only for up to two terms.The dates were decided by the government in February:NEWS,weblink Ponta: Alegeri europarlamentare la 25 mai. Alegeri prezidențiale la 2 și 16 noiembrie, Antena 3, G.S., 2 February 2014,

• 5 September: the Supreme Court announced the composition of the Central Electoral Bureau for the presidential election, composed of judges from the High Court of Cassation and Justice appointed by lot, representatives of the Permanent Electoral Authority and of the political parties.WEB,weblink ALEGERI PREZIDENÈšIALE 2014. Calendarul scrutinului pentru Cotroceni. Cine RISCÄ‚ SÄ‚ NU INTRE în cursă, România TV, Adrian Ilie, 16 September 2014, ro, Judge Veronica Năstasie is elected president of the Central Electoral Bureau.WEB,weblink Proces-verbal încheiat azi 06.09.2014 cu ocazia constituirii Biroului Electoral Central, Central Electoral Bureau, 6 September 2014, ro, 17 September 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141006090143weblink">weblink 6 October 2014, dead,
• 23 September: last day for submitting candidacies and the electoral insignia of the candidates.
• 24 September: the Central Electoral Bureau validated all the 14 submitted candidacies.WEB,weblink Alegeri prezidenÈ›iale 2014: BEC a validat candidaturile - cine este, oficial, în cursa pentru Cotroceni, Ziare.com, 24 September 2014, ro,
• 3 October–1 November: electoral campaign.WEB,weblink Campania pentru alegerile prezidenÈ›iale în audiovizual, între 3 octombrie È™i 1 noiembrie. CNA a decis că va fi gratuită, Mediafax, Laura Mitran, 11 September 2014, ro,
• 2 November, 7 a.m.–9 p.m.: first round of the presidential election, with over 18.3 million people in the country and 530,000 Romanians abroad expected to go to the polls.
• 6 November: validation and publication of the election results in the Official Monitor.WEB,weblink Cine poate ajunge preÈ™edinte. Calendar electoral 2014, Gândul, 8 September 2014, ro,
• 7–15 November: electoral campaign for second round.
• 16 November 7 a.m.–9 p.m.: second round of the presidential election.
• 21 November: validation and publication of the election results in the Official Gazette.

Candidates

File:1. Congresul National al PSD, Alba Iulia - 12.09 (27) (15061157550).jpg|thumb|200px|left|The candidature of Victor Ponta was validated during the Extraordinary Congress of the PSD in Alba IuliaAlba IuliaFourteen candidates submitted to the Central Electoral Bureau files with the number of signatures collected from citizens (at least 200,000) by 23 September 2014: Victor Ponta, Klaus Iohannis, Monica Macovei, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, Teodor Meleșcanu, Elena Udrea, Dan Diaconescu, Hunor Kelemen, Zsolt Szilágyi, Corneliu Vadim Tudor, Constantin Rotaru, William Brînză, Mirel Mircea Amariței and Gheorghe Funar.WEB,weblink 14 competitori și-au depus candidatura pentru alegerile prezidențiale. SONDAJ: Cine va fi președintele României?, Gândul, 24 September 2014, ro, The left-wing parties designated a single candidate: Victor Ponta, the current Prime Minister. He was rated with the best chance of winning the election by main opinion polls. On the other hand, the main right-wing parties, strengthened under the Christian Liberal Alliance, have designated Klaus Iohannis, the second favorite of the opinion polls. However, the so-called "right wing" was still divided, with many newly formed parties with small number of members designating their own presidential candidates, such as Elena Udrea, candidate from the People's Movement Party and supported by the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party. There were four independent candidates: former Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, former Minister of Justice Monica Macovei, former Chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service Teodor Meleșcanu and former Mayor of Cluj-Napoca Gheorghe Funar.This was a record number of candidates since 1996, since in 2000, 2004 and 2009, only 12 candidates were admitted each election.WEB,weblink ALEGERI PREZIDENȚIALE 2014: Cei mai mulți prezidențiabili, din 1996. Câți candidați s-au înscris la alegerile prezidențiale de după Revoluție, DC News, Bratu Iulian, 4 October 2014, ro, Likewise, this was the first time women candidates (Elena Udrea and Monica Macovei) ran for the position of president of the country and the first time three ethnics of the national minorities figure on the ballot papers. A number of people announced they would be running was greater, but they failed to gather the 200,000 signatures needed for the submission of the candidature to the Central Electoral Bureau by the 23 September deadline, such as Ioan Ghișe.Several candidates had announced their intention to run for president, but eventually withdrew in favor of other candidates:

• Crin Antonescu, interim President of Romania in 2012: one of the leading figures of the Social Liberal Union (USL), Antonescu was the joint candidate of the political alliance, but he stepped down as President of PNL and announced the withdrawal of his candidature following the split of USL in February 2014 and the poor results of PNL in the European Parliament election.
• Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, former Prime Minister of Romania: Ungureanu was a candidate for the Civic Force, but withdrew after the party he led was absorbed into the Christian Liberal Alliance in July 2014.
• Cristian Diaconescu, former Presidential Adviser of Traian Băsescu: he was elected as official candidate of newly formed People's Movement Party, but withdrew from the presidential race to support his party colleague, Elena Udrea, who scored higher in the opinion polls.WEB,weblink Internal party struggles will form the backdrop to Romania's presidential election in November, London School of Economics and Political Science, Roxana Mihăilă, 16 September 2014,
• Cătălin Predoiu, former Minister of Justice: he was the official candidate of PDL, after winning an internal election, but after the merger of PNL and PDL, an election was organized to determine the candidate of the alliance, where he lost to Klaus Iohannis.{| class="wikitable"

! Image! Candidate! Candidature launched! Candidature registeredby the Central Electoral Bureau! Alliance! Party (File:Victor Ponta debate November 2014.jpg|100px) Victor Ponta 12 September 2014HTTP://WWW.DIGI24.RO/STIRI/DIGI24/ACTUALITATE/POLITICA/PSD+BUCURESTI+A+APROBAT+REZOLUTIA+PRIVIND+CANDIDATURA+LUI+VICTOR >TITLE=VICTOR PONTA A PRIMIT OFICIAL SUSțINEREA PSD PENTRU PREZIDENțIALE DATE=12 SEPTEMBER 2014, ro, 18 September 2014HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.11.PDF >TITLE=DECIZIE PRIVIND îNREGISTRAREA CANDIDATURII DOMNULUI VICTOR-VIOREL PONTA, PROPUSă DE ALIANțA ELECTORALă PSD – UNPR – PC, LA ALEGERILE PENTRU PREșEDINTELE ROMâNIEI DIN ANUL 2014 DATE=17 SEPTEMBER 2014 ACCESS-DATE=22 SEPTEMBER 2014 ARCHIVE-DATE=6 OCTOBER 2014 DF=DMY-ALL, PSD–UNPR–PC AllianceSocial Democratic Party (Romania)>Social Democratic Party| National Union for the Progress of RomaniaConservative Party (Romania)>Conservative Party (File:Klaus Iohannis at EPP Summit, March 2015, Brussels (cropped).jpg|100px) Klaus Iohannis 11 August 2014HTTP://WWW.EVZ.RO/PDL-SI-PNL-DESEMNEAZA-AZI-CANDIDATUL-ACL-LA-PREZIDENTIALE.HTML >TITLE=ANUNȚUL OFICIAL. KLAUS IOHANNIS ESTE CANDIDATUL PNL șI PDL LA PREZIDENțIALE. PDL A ACORDAT VOT COVÂRȘITOR PENTRU SUSțINEREA LUI IOHANNIS AUTHOR=LARISA CIUTă, ANDREEA UDREA LANGUAGE=RO, 22 September 2014HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.13.PDF >TITLE=DECIZIE PRIVIND îNREGISTRAREA CANDIDATURII DOMNULUI KLAUS-WERNER IOHANNIS, PROPUSă DE ALIANțA CREșTIN-LIBERALă PARTIDUL NAțIONAL LIBERAL-PARTIDUL DEMOCRAT LIBERAL, LA ALEGERILE PENTRU PREșEDINTELE ROMâNIEI DIN ANUL 2014 DATE=20 SEPTEMBER 2014 ACCESS-DATE=22 SEPTEMBER 2014 ARCHIVE-DATE=6 OCTOBER 2014 DF=DMY-ALL, Christian Liberal AllianceNational Liberal Party (Romania)>National Liberal PartyDemocratic Liberal Party (Romania)>Democratic Liberal Party| Civic Force| Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania100px) Monica Macovei 5 August 2014HTTP://WWW.ROMANIALIBERA.RO/POLITICA/PARTIDE/MONICA-MACOVEI-CANDIDEAZA-LA-PREZIDENTIALE-CA-INDEPENDENT-345399 >TITLE=MONICA MACOVEI CANDIDEAZă LA PREZIDENțIALE CA INDEPENDENT AUTHOR=ANDREEA NICOLAE LANGUAGE=RO, WORK=CENTRAL ELECTORAL BUREAU LANGUAGE=RO ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20141006133631/HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.15.PDF URL-STATUS=DEAD | Independent100px) Hunor Kelemen 17 July 2014HTTP://STIRILEPROTV.RO/STIRI/POLITIC/ALEGERI-PREZIDENTIALE-2014-KELEMEN-HUNOR-VA-FI-CANDIDATUL-UDMR.HTML >TITLE=ALEGERI PREZIDENțIALE 2014. KELEMEN HUNOR VA FI CANDIDATUL UDMR DATE=17 JULY 2014ACCESS-DATE=2014-09-24 ARCHIVE-DATE=2014-10-06 | Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (File:Conventia PD-L 2013 - Elena Udrea (1) (cropped).jpg|100px) Elena Udrea 19 August 2014HTTP://WWW.HOTNEWS.RO/STIRI-POLITIC-17925042-ELENA-UDREA-DESEMNATA-CANDIDATUL-PMP-ALEGERILE-PREZIDENTIALE.HTM >TITLE=ELENA UDREA, DESEMNATă CANDIDATUL PMP LA ALEGERILE PREZIDENțIALE: ÎI VOI CERE PREșEDINTELUI Să Mă SUSțINă îN ACEASTă COMPETIțIE AUTHOR=A.C. LANGUAGE=RO, 24 September 2014HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.18.PDF >TITLE=ARCHIVED COPY ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20141006102008/HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.18.PDF URL-STATUS=DEAD, PMP–PNȚCD Alliance| People's Movement Party| Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party100px) Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu 23 July 2014HTTP://WWW.EVZ.RO/CALIN-POPESCU-TARICEANU-MA-ANGAJEZ-IN-PROIECTUL-PLR-CANDIDAND-LA-ALEGERILE-PREZIDENTIALE.HTML >TITLE=CăLIN POPESCU-TăRICEANU: Mă ANGAJEZ îN PROIECTUL PLR, CANDIDâND LA ALEGERILE PREZIDENțIALE AUTHOR=LARISA CIUTă LANGUAGE=RO, 24 September 2014HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.19.PDF >TITLE=ARCHIVED COPY ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20141006074449/HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.19.PDF URL-STATUS=DEAD, — Independent1100px) William Brînză 23 September 2014 24 September 2014HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.20.PDF >TITLE=ARCHIVED COPY ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20141006100013/HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.20.PDF URL-STATUS=DEAD, — Romanian Ecologist PartyACCESS-DATE=2014-09-24 ARCHIVE-DATE=2014-10-06 Romanian Socialist Party (present-day)>Socialist Alternative Party100px) Corneliu Vadim Tudor 23 September 2014 24 September 2014HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.22.PDF >TITLE=ARCHIVED COPY ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20141006122751/HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.22.PDF URL-STATUS=DEAD, — Greater Romania Party100px) Dan Diaconescu 12 October 2013HTTP://WWW.MEDIAFAX.RO/POLITIC/DAN-DIACONESCU-PRIMUL-LOC-PE-LISTA-PPDD-LA-EUROPARLAMENTARE-SI-CANDIDAT-LA-PREZIDENTIALE-11502702 >TITLE=DAN DIACONESCU, PRIMUL LOC PE LISTA PPDD LA EUROPARLAMENTARE șI CANDIDAT LA PREZIDENțIALE AUTHOR=VASILE MAGRADEAN LANGUAGE=RO, 24 September 2014HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.23.PDF >TITLE=ARCHIVED COPY ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20141006105316/HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.23.PDF URL-STATUS=DEAD, — People's Party – Dan DiaconescuGheorghe Funar >ACCESS-DATE=2014-09-24 ARCHIVE-DATE=2014-10-06 | Independent2100px) Zsolt Szilágyi (politician) >WORK=MEDIAFAX.ROACCESS-DATE=2014-09-24 ARCHIVE-DATE=2014-10-06 | Hungarian People's Party of TransylvaniaACCESS-DATE=2014-09-24 ARCHIVE-DATE=2014-10-06 | PRODEMO Party100px) Teodor Meleșcanu 23 September 2014HTTP://WWW.REALITATEA.NET/TEODOR-MELE-CANU-I-A-DEPUS-CANDIDATURA-VOI-DEPUNE-TOATA-ENERGIA-CA-ARA-SA-REVINA-LA-NORMALITATE_1531308.HTML >ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20140923115108/HTTP://WWW.REALITATEA.NET/TEODOR-MELE-CANU-I-A-DEPUS-CANDIDATURA-VOI-DEPUNE-TOATA-ENERGIA-CA-ARA-SA-REVINA-LA-NORMALITATE_1531308.HTML ARCHIVE-DATE=23 SEPTEMBER 2014 WORK=REALITATEA.NET LANGUAGE=RO, 24 September 2014HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.27.PDF >TITLE=ARCHIVED COPY ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20141006084612/HTTP://WWW.BEC2014.RO/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2014/09/DECIZIA-NR.27.PDF URL-STATUS=DEAD, — Independent1Tăriceanu's Liberal Reformist Party led was not registered at the time, so he decided to run as an independent.2At the time of the election there was an ongoing dispute between Corneliu Vadim Tudor and Gheorghe Funar as to who is the legitimate leader of the Greater Romania Party. Because Corneliu Vadim Tudor appeared as the leader of the party in the Register of Political Parties kept at the Bucharest Tribunal, Gheorghe Funar ran as an independent.

Campaign

File:Lansarea candidaturii lui Victor Ponta la alegerile prezidentiale din 2014 - 20.09 (43) (15366505376).jpg|thumb|200px|Victor Ponta launching his candidature for the presidential election on National Arena, BucharestBucharestFile:Lansarea candidaturii lui Victor Ponta la alegerile prezidentiale din 2014 - 20.09 (22) (15389531565).jpg|thumb|left|200px|Former Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie LeancăIurie LeancăVictor Ponta launched his campaign on his birthday, in a huge rally on the National Arena. Over 70,000 people from across the country attended the rally.WEB,weblink Victor Ponta și-a lansat candidatura la prezidențiale, de ziua sa, în fața a zeci de mii de oameni, pe Arena Națională: Sunt Victor Viorel Ponta. Vă chem să fim împreună în bătălia pentru marea unire a românilor, HotNews.ro, I.R., 20 September 2014, ro, One of the stadium lawns was covered with four large panels inscribed with the slogan "Proud to be Romanians" and depicting Romanian folk motifs.WEB,weblink PONTA, lansare cu fast, pe Arena Națională: "Mi-e teamă să nu vă dezamăgesc!", Realitatea.net, 20 September 2014, ro, Many opposing political analysts, members of the opposition and even President Traian Băsescu have likened the event to the rallies in the communist period dedicated to Nicolae Ceaușescu or, more recently, those dedicated to Kim Jong-un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea.WEB,weblink Băsescu, despre lansarea lui Ponta: Omul ăsta și-a pierdut cumpătul și controlul. Va fi vai de noi cu un președinte ca Ponta, Kim Jong-Un, Mediafax.ro, Valentina Postelnicu, 21 September 2014, ro, WEB,weblink Ponta, comparat cu "pigmeul" Kim Jong Un: Își construiește cultul mărețului conducător, Ziare.com, Theodora Șopaltă, 20 September 2014, ro, Likewise, he was criticized by PMP candidate Elena Udrea for the cost of organizing such an event which, she said, was around 2 million euros.WEB,weblink Elena Udrea: Ponta a organizat o manifestare ale cărei costuri întrec orice imaginație: 2 milioane de euro, Evenimentul Zilei, 20 September 2014, ro, Klaus Iohannis launched his campaign in front of the Government, in the presence of up to 30,000 people. The special guest of the event was the Secretary General of the EPP, Antonio López-Istúriz White, who stated that "Victor Ponta cannot and should not become president of the European Romania".WEB,weblink Klaus Iohannis s-a lansat în cursa pentru Cotroceni din fața Guvernului. "Nu sunt un om al scandalului și al spectacolului", Gândul, Andi Manciu, 27 September 2014, ro, The vast majority of Romanians are Eastern Orthodox Christians like Ponta, while Iohannis is Protestant. Commenting on a poll, according to which 58.22% of the respondents said for them the religion of the President mattered, while 39.81% said they were indifferent to the issue, Ponta said he did not believe that a candidate for President "has a problem if he is Orthodox or is not of Romanian ethnicity".WEB,weblink Ethnic German candidate brings suspense to Romania's presidential race, EurActiv.com, 18 August 2014, Iohannis has reacted strongly to the statement by his rival, saying that bringing the issue of religion is a "painful attempt" to poison the campaign. Iohannis' slogan in the presidential campaign was "less talk, more things done", alluding to frequent television appearances of his rival, Victor Ponta.NEWS,weblink Romania's presidential election: Ponta vs the liberals and the ladies, The Economist, 6 September 2014, In his presidential program are mentioned, among others: deepening of the strategic partnership with the United States, allocation of 2% of GDP for defense, 6% for health and 6% for education, restructuring of the management system of EU funds, development of the capital market, keeping the flat tax, return of VAT to 19%, etc.WEB,weblink Principalele puncte din programul prezidențial al lui Klaus Iohannis, HotNews.ro, 29 September 2014, ro, Iohannis proposes a liberal economy based on competitiveness and prosperity, encouragement of a highly developed agriculture, connection of Romania to the Western world through infrastructure or decentralization, as "vector of modernization". Likewise, for Klaus Iohannis, the European path of the Republic of Moldova is a national priority.WEB,weblink Klaus Iohannis - Ce promite, Ziare.com, Camelia Badea, 3 October 2014, ro, Elena Udrea launched her campaign for the presidency through an anti-governmental march attended by 10,000 people.WEB,weblink Alegeri prezidențiale 2014. Elena Udrea și-a lansat candidatura cu un marș: Nu sunt un om perfect, dar voi fi cel mai bun președinte, Adevărul, Mădălina Mihalache, Noémi Varga, 28 September 2014, ro, She expressed her intention to dissolve the Parliament and form a new Government, in the eventuality that she would win the election.WEB,weblink Elena Udrea: Voi dizolva Parlamentul și voi propune un nou premier, cu un nou Guvern, România Liberă, Paul Filimon, 17 October 2014, ro, 27 October 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141025100100weblink">weblink 25 October 2014, dead, dmy-all, Udrea is supported by outgoing President Traian BăsescuWEB,weblink Băsescu, la Cotroceni, campanie pentru Udrea: Rămân consecvent în a susține candidatul PMP, Jurnalul Național, 13 October 2014, ro, 27 October 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141027153359weblink">weblink 27 October 2014, dead, who intended to join the party Udrea leads at the end of his mandate in December.WEB,weblink Elena Udrea: Traian Băsescu se va înscrie în PMP în 22 decembrie, HotNews.ro, I.C., 22 October 2014, ro, During the early days following the first round of the 2 November election, that saw the two main candidates from all opinion polls facing off in a 16 November runoff, several of the candidates that fell short of acceding into the second round have declared their support for one of the two remaining candidates. Prime Minister and PSD leader Victor Ponta, who came first with 40.4% of the votes ahead of Sibiu mayor and ACL candidate Klaus Iohannis who earned a distant 30.3%, received the backing of the second runner-up, former premier and Senate president Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, from the Liberal Reformist Party, who would also have been Ponta's proposal to replace him as Prime Minister, had Ponta won.WEB,weblink Tăriceanu îl susține pe Ponta și refacerea USL: Bătălia nu este câștigată, Ziare.com, Alex Varzaru, 4 November 2014, ro, {{Multiple image





}}Other candidates who also publicly declared their support for Ponta were: Dan Diaconescu, from PP-DD, Corneliu Vadim Tudor, from PRM and independent candidate Teodor Meleșcanu. Despite UDMR's presence in the government led by Ponta, Hunor Kelemen expressed neutrality and recommended Hungarian electorate "vote according to their own beliefs". He said that UDMR can't support Victor Ponta in the second round because the Social Democrats have allied with PRM, an ultra-nationalist party, with which UDMR had several conflicts over time.WEB,weblink Deși este la guvernare, UDMR nu-l susține pe Ponta. Vezi de ce, Ziare.com, Georgeta Filip, 6 November 2014, ro, Internationally, Ponta received support from many current Prime Ministers across Europe, like the Moldovan premier Iurie Leancă, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Serbian premier Aleksandar Vučić,WEB,weblink Aleksandar Vucic îl susține pe VICTOR PONTA, YouTube, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico,WEB,weblink Robert Fico îl susține pe VICTOR PONTA, YouTube, Czech premier Bohuslav Sobotka,WEB,weblink Bohuslav Sobotka îl susține pe VICTOR PONTA, YouTube, Georgian premier Irakli Garibashvili and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama,WEB,weblink Edi Rama îl susține pe VICTOR PONTA, YouTube, among others. Also, the Party of European Socialists expressed clear support for the candidature of Ponta to the Romanian presidency.WEB,weblink PM Victor Ponta launched his candidacy for Romania's Presidency, 16 November 2014, Others were Sigmar Gabriel (Germany, SPD),WEB,weblink Sigmar Gabriel îl susține pe VICTOR PONTA, YouTube, Elio Di Rupo (Belgium, Parti Socialiste),WEB,weblink Elio Di Rupo îl susține pe VICTOR PONTA, YouTube, Gianni Pittella (Italy)WEB,weblink Gianni Pittella îl susține pe VICTOR PONTA, YouTube, and Martin Schulz (President of the European Parliament).WEB,weblink Martin Schulz îl susține pe VICTOR PONTA, YouTube, Iohannis announced that he would not negotiate with other candidates, though he needed as much as 21% of the votes to recuperate and win. Elena Udrea, from the PMP–PNȚCD Alliance, didn't avowedly express her support for Klaus Iohannis, but stated that the vote on 16 November should be anti-Ponta.WEB,weblink Udrea: Votul în turul II trebuie să fie anti-Ponta, dar nu sunt adepta "răului cel mai mic", Mediafax.ro, Emma Toader, 7 November 2014, ro, On the other hand, independents Monica Macovei and Mirel Mircea Amariței, as well as PPMT-backed Zsolt Szilágyi announced their support for Iohannis. Likewise, Iohannis enjoyed international support from the European People's PartyWEB,weblink PPE îl va susține pe Klaus Iohannis, Digi24, 11 November 2014, ro, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.WEB,weblink Klaus Iohannis, la Adevărul Live: Mă susține Angela Merkel. Mi-a trimis și o scrisoare, Adevărul, Iulia Marin, 13 November 2014, ro, WEB,weblink Siebenbürgische zeitung, Deutsche Bundeskanzlerin unterstützt Klaus Johannis, 2014-11-14, 2014-11-17, Victor Ponta and key figures of his party accused Klaus Iohannis of wanting to separate Transylvania from the rest of Romania, because Iohannis won a large majority of the votes on 2 November in the intra-Carpathian region.WEB,weblink Romanian presidential runoff sets pugnacious PM against 'civilized' Transylvanian mayor, Fox News, 13 November 2014, Iohannis criticized these statements, describing them as "cretinisms". He also said that the idea of "breaking Transylvania" was "totally false, from another century and harmful", and came up because "people like the PRM are coopted for some votes".WEB,weblink Iohannis, despre acuzaţiile că ar vrea să rupă Ardealul: Astea nu sunt afirmații politice, ci cretinisme, Mediafax.ro, 7 November 2014, ro, This topic was intensively discussed in local media. Many political commentators consider that dissimilar cultural heritage that each of the regions of Romania has is an exponent of the different vote expressed by Transylvania, Banat, Bukovina, Crișana and Maramureș, as opposed to Moldavia, Wallachia and Dobruja.WEB,weblink Cum s-a rupt România după primul tur al prezidențialelor: "Ar fi bine dacă Sudul și Estul ar refuza pomenile. Țara asta chiar merită niște timpuri mai bune", Adevărul, 14 November 2014, ro,

Opinion polls

First round

The problem of the seriousness and confidence in the opinion polls in the political domain is extremely controversial in Romania. Many people, especially members and supporters of the opposition,WEB,weblink Senator PDL: PSD și aliații săi răsplătesc din bani europeni manipulările sondajelor de opinie, Mediafax.ro, Ela Giurgea, 5 June 2014, ro, WEB,weblink Ponta crește de la o săptămână la alta, în sondajele firmelor apropiate de PSD, Ziare.com, 27 October 2014, ro, consider that the political affiliations of the directors of the main opinion polling firms have a significant impact in their results.WEB,weblink Sondajele sunt falsificate, dar nu oricum, Deutsche Welle, Horațiu Pepine, 17 October 2014, ro, For example, Sociopol is led by Mirel Palada, former spokesman for the government of Victor Ponta,WEB,weblink Alegeri prezidențiale 2014: Cine face sondajele de opinie, Ziare.com, 6 October 2014, ro, while GSSC Avangarde is led by sociologist Marius Pieleanu, a confidant of the Conservative Party. The honorary president of CSCI is Bogdan Teodorescu, one of the strategists of Victor Ponta's campaign during these presidential elections. The main shareholder of IRES is Vasile Dâncu, former PSD senator. But not only the ruling party has tangents with the opinion polls. CCSCC published the results of a fictional survey during the European Parliament election of 25 May 2014, at liberal Horea Uioreanu's command, subsequently taken into custody for corruption.WEB,weblink DNA: Uioreanu a primit 5.000 de euro mită de la Bene, care a plătit un studiu de piață fictiv, Mediafax.ro, Andreea Unturică, 31 May 2014, ro, Several opinion polls were conducted in the period preceding official announcement of the 14 candidates. Many of them showed Crin Antonescu instead of Klaus Iohannis or Cristian Diaconescu instead of Elena Udrea. In the polls also figured Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu and Cătălin Predoiu, which withdrew their candidacies after the political events in the summer of 2014. The following table displays the main candidates (at least 1%) and evolution of their percentages.{| class="wikitable"align="center"! rowspan="2" | Poll source! rowspan="2" | Date! Ponta(USD)! Iohannis(ACL)! Tăriceanu(Ind.)! Udrea(PMP)! Diaconescu(PP-DD)! Kelemen(UDMR)! Macovei(M10)! Vadim(PRM)! Meleșcanu(Ind.)align="center"align="center"IRES >41% >| 2%align="center"CSCI >40% >| 3%align="center"CSCI >41% >| 2%align="center"CCSCC >36% >| 3%align="center"IRES >43% >| 3%align="center"Sociopol >41% >| 2%align="center"INSCOP >40.6% >| 4.6%align="center"GSSC Avangarde >42% >| 4%align="center"AB Research Grup >42% >| 1%align="center"CCSCC >38% >|align="center"Sociopol >42% >| 1%align="center"CSCI >42% >|

Graphical summary

The following graph depicts the evolution of the standing of each candidate in the poll aggregators from September to October 2014.{{Graph:Chart }}

Second round

{| class="wikitable"align="center"! rowspan="2" | Poll source! rowspan="2" | Date! Ponta(USD)! Iohannis(ACL)align="center"align="center"INSCOP >51.7%}} 48.3%align="center"weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141006111720weblink">Operations Research >59%}} 41%align="center"The Political Rating Agency >55%}} 45%align="center"INSCOP >52.8%}} 47.2%align="center"BCS >50.4%}}align="center"weblink" title="archive.today/20141005065705weblink">IRSOP >49%}} 43%align="center"CCSCC{{Dead link>date=May 2019 fix-attempted=yes }} 17–23 July 2014 {{yes| 49%align="center"GSSC Avangarde >55%}} 45%align="center"INSCOP >54%}} 46%align="center"CSCI >57%}} 43%align="center"CCSCC{{Dead link>date=May 2019 fix-attempted=yes }} 19–24 September 2014 {{yes| 48%align="center"GSSC Avangarde >57%}} 43%align="center"INSCOP >53.5%}} 46.5%align="center"IRES >55%}} 45%align="center"CCSCC >50%}} {{yes-no|50%}}align="center"CSCI >55%}} 45%align="center"CSCI >55%}} 45%align="center"CURS-Avangarde >54%}} 46%

Results

The first round of voting was held on 2 November. Because no candidate obtained the support of more than 50% of registered voters, a second round was scheduled to be held two weeks later, on 16 November, with Victor Ponta and Klaus Iohannis running against each other.Elena Udrea, Monica Macovei and Kelemen Hunor openly endorsed Iohannis in the second round. Dan Diaconescu positioned himself against Ponta, without openly endorsing Iohannis. Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu and Teodor Meleșcanu openly endorsed Ponta in the second round.{{Election resultsKlaus Iohannis>party1=Christian Liberal Alliance (National Liberal Party (Romania)–Democratic Liberal Party (Romania)>PDL)votes1_2=6288769|color1=#FFDD00Victor Ponta>party2=Social Democratic Party (Romania)–National Union for the Progress of Romania>UNPR–Conservative Party (Romania) Alliance>votes2=3836093|votes2_2=5264383Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu>party3=Independent|votes3=508572Elena Udrea>party4=People's Movement Party–Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party>PNȚCD Alliance|votes4=493376Monica Macovei>party5=Independent|votes5=421648Dan Diaconescu>party6=People's Party – Dan Diaconescu|votes6=382526Corneliu Vadim Tudor>party7=Greater Romania Party|votes7=349416Hunor Kelemen>party8=Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania|votes8=329727Teodor Meleșcanu>party9=Independent|votes9=104131Zsolt Szilágyi (politician)>Zsolt SzilágyiHungarian People's Party of Transylvania>votes10=53146Gheorghe Funar>party11=Independent|votes11=45405party12=Ecologist Party of Romania|votes12=43194party13=Romanian Socialist Party (present-day)>votes13=28805party14=PRODEMO Partycolor14=#0018A8invalid2=166111electorate2=18280994|source=ROAEP}}

By county

First round

File:Alegeri prezidentiale 2014 turul 1.svg|thumb|350px|Results of the first round by county{{legend|#C83737|Victor Ponta}}{{legend|#0055D4|Klaus Iohannis}}{{legend|#44CC44|Hunor KelemenHunor KelemenFile:Alegeri Prezidențiale În Romania 2014, Primul Tur.png|thumb|350px|Results of the first round by locality{{legend|#E14039|Victor Ponta}}{{legend|#1F75FE|Klaus Iohannis}}{{legend|#008000|Hunor Kelemen}}{{legend|#89CFF0|Elena Udrea}}{{legend|#FFFF00|#808080|Draw Ponta/Iohannis}}{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"! rowspan="2" | County! Ponta(PSD)! Iohannis(ACL)! Tăriceanu(Ind.)! Udrea(PMP)! Macovei(Ind.)! Kelemen(UDMR)! style="background-color: #ED262B" |! style="background-color: #FFDD00" |! style="background-color: #075697" |! style="background-color: #ADD8E6" |! style="background-color: #C0C0C0" |! style="background-color: #339900" |Alba County >52.57%}} 3.88% 3.91% 2.29% 2.37%Arad County >44.55%}} 4.12% 4.92% 2.83% 3.94%Argeș County >49.75%}} 20.99% 8.04% 5.69% 2.97%

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- time: 6:55pm EDT - Sat, May 04 2024