Campaigning for EP elections kicks off in Romania

Most of the candidates run on behalf of political parties, while only one has registered as independent candidate. The elections, which had originally been scheduled for May, were postponed to Nov. 25 by Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu in August due to a months-long political crisis triggered by the long-running power struggle between the prime minister and president. According to a decree signed by Romanian President Traian Basescu Tuesday night, a referendum will also be held on Nov. 25 asking Romanians to choose the introduction of the single vote beginning from the 2008 legislative elections.

The president said the introduction of the single vote for parliament is the only solution guaranteeing a better political class than the one resulting from the electoral system based on party lists. A recent opinion poll shows that as many as 37.2% of Romanians would vote for the pro-presidential opposition Democratic Party, followed by the largest opposition Social Democratic Party with 21.5% support and the ruling National Liberal Party with 12.6% (people.com.cn)