November 11th is the official start of the election campaign in Romania. Nearly 6,500 candidates will be competing for the 466 MP seats, more precisely 134 seats in the Senate, 308 in the Chamber of Deputies and another 18 seats for the representatives of ethnic minorities. 2 Senators and 4 Deputies will also represent the diaspora. Most candidates come from the parties with the highest chances of making it into Parliament: the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the People\u2019s Movement Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and Save Romania Union.<\/p>\n
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In the run-up to the election campaign, the Liberals launched their candidates and their campaign slogan, \u201cRomania, forward,\u201d in a large-scale rally downtown Bucharest on Sunday. The incumbent PM Dacian Ciolos also attended the meeting. He does not run in this election, nor is he a member of any political party, but he will have the Liberals\u2019 support to keep his position after the elections.<\/p>\n
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Dacian Ciolos, who is also backed by Save Romania Union, pleaded for a change in the political class and the general outlook on politics: \u201cYou should think about how each of us can change ourselves, so that we may be able to demand that our leaders change as well, be more honest, more straightforward and more commonsensical. I believe change begins with ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Social Democrats read the Liberals\u2019 message as an attack, and their leader, Liviu Dragnea, once again ruled out a prospective government headed by Dacian Ciolos. The technocratic PM was also criticized by the ex-president Traian Basescu, who believes that, had Dacian Ciolos kept his political independence, he would have been a more convincing help for the Liberal Party. However, Basescu says, by taking part in the Liberal rally Dacian Ciolos has abandoned his political non-involvement.<\/span><\/p>\n
Traian Basescu\u2019s party, People\u2019s Movement Party, also presented its candidates on Sunday. The party aims to become the third-largest political group in the country, with Traian Basescu as prime minister. Traian Basescu: \u201cOur political goal, which we affirm openly, is the unity of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. This will be possible when Romania proves to the Moldovan citizens that it is better for us to stay together, than live in two separate states.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, it will support any government, regardless of its political views, as long as it contributes to the development of Transylvania, where most of its voters are concentrated. The president of this party, Kelemen Hunor: \u201cWhat we want after the 2016 election is a formula able to reform the Romanian society, to secure a much calmer and more balanced climate in terms of societal development and, of course, we would like to play a part in this change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The make-up of the new government will be decided in polling stations on December 11, regardless of what politicians wish for. All they have to do is convince voters that they are the best choices for the new Parliament.<\/p>\n
(Translated by Elena Enache)<\/p>\n
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