Romanian Diaspora and Its Presidents

Abstract

The turnout in Europe has experienced a continuous deterioration over the last two decades. Absenteeism causes are many and complex: Lack of trust in politicians, lack of trust in public policies, lack of interest, lack of political culture are some of these causes. In some countries, like in Romania, migration is an important variable when discussing the turnout. Large numbers of migrants are working all over the world but they are still registered in the in country’s electoral rolls. The probability that migrants have any interest and/or resources to go to vote in the host countries is relatively low. However, the last elections in Romania were characterized by an increase in the diaspora’s intensity of electoral activity. This paper is focusing on two directions of analysis: the political asset and the electoral asset of Romanian diaspora in the context of post-communist presidential elections. The political asset is understood as political participation. The electoral asset is understood as the distribution of votes to the electoral competitors. In this context the paper explores a series of variables and raises a series of hypothetical questions: “Is the diaspora vote a competent one?” and “What is the impact of the votes cast from abroad on the election outcomes?”