BUCHAREST, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Romania's incumbent President Traian Basescu was re-elected for the next five years after winning 50.3 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential run-off, according to the final results released by the Central Election Bureau on Wednesday.
Romania's incumbent President Traian Basescu addresses his supporters at Democratic-Liberal Party's headquarters in Bucharest Dec. 6, 2009. (Xinhua/Agerpres) Photo Gallery>>>
Social Democratic leader Mircea Geoana garnered 49.6 percent, according to the bureau.
Basescu was leading by only 70,000 ballots in the run-off, according to the results. Voter turnout was 58.02 percent.
The final results are to be sent on Wednesday evening to the Constitutional Court for validation.
However, the Social Democratic Party on Tuesday appealed to the Constitutional Court to annul the presidential run-off, citing alleged vote fraud.
"We are asking ... for the annulment of the run-off and a repeat of the election, as law requires," said Party Secretary-general Liviu Dragnea.
There was sufficient evidence for the court to annul the election, said Dragnea, alleging such frauds as massive electoral tourism, multiple voting and vote buying.
Basescu is endorsed by the ruling Democratic-Liberal Party, while Geoana, a candidate of the Social Democratic Party-Conservative Party Alliance, also enjoys the support of several opposition parties in parliament.
Emil Boc, chief of the Democratic Liberal Party, said earlier that the Social Democrats' challenge has no legal grounds.
Interim Foreign Minister Catalin Predoiu on Tuesday said the election process outside the country was carried out "according to the law, in a correct and transparent manner."
The Constitutional Court has the power to annul election results at a constituency or national level, and can demand a repeat of the election process if large fraud is found.
According to an exit poll announced by pollster Insomar on Sunday evening, Geoana won 51.6 percent of the vote, while Basescu trailed with around 48.4 percent.
Another exit pollster, the Company for Sociological Research and Branding (CCSB), gave Geoana a 2.4-percentage-point lead over Basescu, while a CURS exit poll put the figure at 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent in favor of Geoana. A CSOP poll showed the vote was tied at 50-50.
Romania has been in the hands of a caretaker government since mid-October, when its democrat liberal government was ousted in a non-confidence vote in parliament and Basescu failed to push through parliament his nominations for a new prime minister.
Sunday's presidential run-off has been widely seen as crucial for Romania. The winner will have to move quickly to name a new prime minister and solve a political crisis that has made international donors postpone a massive aid package to the country-- the third installment of a 20-billion-euro (29.65 billion U.S. dollars) bailout package led by the International Monetary Fund.
