Pulpits, Ballots and Party Cards: Religion and Elections in Romania
Religion, State & Society, Vo!' 33, No, 4, December 2005 Pulpits, Ballots and Party Cards: Religion and Elections in Romania LAVINIA STAN & LUCIAN TURCESCU Introduction: Political Changes since 1989 The literature on elections in Romania has grown exponentially since citizens won the right to elect and be elected to public office following the collapse of the communist regime, but to date no study has dealt systematically with the impact of religious actors and symbols on electoral campaigns, although elections and party politics have best illustrated the politicians' readiness to take advantage of the church-state relationship, and the churches' eagerness to reassert their role and shape Romanian democracy according to their vision (Shafir, 1997; Popescu, 1997, 2003; Pop-Eleche~, 2001; De Neve, 2001; Mungiu-Pippidi, 2001; Roper, 2003). In the aftermath of the December 1989 regime change, Romania moved quickly to adopt permissive legislation encouraging political parties to compete in elections for the right to form the government. Parties needed only 251 members to register, and as a result some 200 formations spanning the entire political spectrum were set up in a matter of months. Polls were organised in 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 (local elections in June, parliamentary and presidential elections concomitantly in November). In local elections, citizens chose mayors directly, and local and county councillors indirectly. A mixed proportional representation system with party lists and deputy seats set aside for designated minority groups was adopted for electing the 140 members of the upper senate and the 345 members of the lower chamber of deputies. The president is elected directly from among candidates who gather at least 100,000 support signatures.
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