Basescu – Geoana – Antonescu debate on Friday 7pm: Three one on one confrontations

The presidential campaign candidates’ staff teams and the moderator of the debate, Robert Turcescu, decided the format of the confrontation for the show on Friday evening broadcast by Romanian TV channel Realitatea TV. Traian Basescu (PD-L), Mircea Geoana (PSD) and Crin Antonescu (PNL) will each hold a speech, followed by three one-on-one confrontations: first – Geoana-Antonescu, second – Basescu-Geoana, third – Antonescu-Basescu.

It has been established that Mircea Geoana will hold the first, Crin Antonescu the second and Traian Basescu the third.

The debate is organised by the Institute of Public Policy and it will be hosted by the Parliament. TV channels have been invited by the organisers to broadcast live.

Each candidate is allowed to come accompanied by five campaign staff and 30 supporters. The debate will be followed by a round table with the three candidates, where journalists will be able to ask questions.

Initially, the main presidency runner-ups had to take part of a larger debate, comprising in five one on one confrontations and speeches, on Wednesday evening at the public TV channel TVR. It was cancelled after Traian Basescu, Crin Antonescu and Sorin Oprescu accused TVR chief Alexandru Sassu for changing the format of the show from five candidates to seven, introducing Corneliu Vadim Tudor (PRM) and George Becali (PNG).

Corneliu Vadim Tudor, Remus Cernea and Ninel Potarca request that all candidates take part in the debate on Friday

The PRM leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor, runner-up for Romania’s presidential elections scheduled for November 22, wrote to the Romanian People’s Advocate, to the Central Electoral Office, to the National Audiovisual Council and to the National Council for the Fight Against Discrimination (CNCD), showing his discontent with the fact that he has not been invited to take part in the electoral debate on Friday evening, Romanian press agency NewsIn announces.

He requests that the state institutions decide that all the presidential candidates take part in the last broadcasted TV debate before the polls on Sunday. According to him, this would „eliminate the discrimination among the candidates imposed by those wanting to fraud the presidential elections”.

According to Corneliu Vadim Tudor, the organisers base their decision apparently on the „so-called institutions of public opinion survey, which, in fact, manipulate the voters”. There are currently 12 runners for Romania’s presidency.

The UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor announced that he was accepted in the debate by Crin Antonescu and Mircea Geoana, but he would not do so until the chief of state agreed as well. According to Romanian news agency Mediafax, Remus Cernea and Ninel Potarca requested that they be present in the debate as well. Remus Cernea, the candidate of the Green Party, said that Traian Basescu, Mircea Geoana and Crin Antonescu behaved like athletes in a marathon, making way with their elbows on the track.