The second round of the Romanian presidential election produced the closest of results. The two candidates were Traian Băsescu (PDL – Democrats) and Mircea Dan Geoana (PSD – Social Democrats). In the days immediately prior to the second ballot there were indications that Geoana was likely to be successful. (See a report here.) On the election night itself both candidates claimed victory and the exit polls seemed to give Geoana an advantage. However, in the end, Băsescu won the narrowest of victories.

The result from the Romanian Central Election Bureau are available here:

Traian Băsescu (PDL – Democrats) – 5,275,808 votes, 50.33 per cent
Mircea Dan Geoana (PSD – Social Democrats) – 5,205,760 votes, 49.66 per cent

Turnout was a lowly 58.02%.

Much will be made of the fact that, in effect, Băsescu won courtesy of the votes of expatriate Romanians, who voted overwhelmingly for him. The overall difference between Băsescu and Geoana was smaller than the difference between the expatriate support for the two candidates.

As discussed in a previous post, had Geoana won then he would most likely have formed a coalition within the existing legislature. However, assuming party loyalties remain the same, and they may not, then Băsescu will have to dissolve the legislature in order to try to manufacture a majority. So, there is a high likelihood of a period of political instability to come.