Reintroduction of the multi-party system in Romania: the legal framework and the evolution of political parties from 1989 to 1996

After the 1989 Revolution, the term “transition” was associated almost immediately with the term “reform”. The transition required a long series of reforms consisting in the abolition of existing institutions and realities duringthe communist regime and their replacement with new ones necessary for the establishment of democracy. Unquestionably, a difficult task for the governors and therefore the indigenous political class. Romanian politicians had to consider what reforms were absolutely indispensable for achieving the transition to a genuine democracy and a real market economy, but they also had to follow the order in which these reforms were to be introduced, the expected effects, to justify them to the population in order to obtain its consent – by vote – in order to implement them. Romanians voted for reforms according to promises, and then rejected governments according to results. The role of political parties in the democratic game is very important. To underline this, we have analyzed, on the one hand, the legislative framework under which political parties were established and operate in Romania, as well as the route taken by the main political parties between December 1989 and 1996, which led to certain results from the 1996 elections, as in all election campaigns carried out till present.