Romanian National Unity Party

The Romanian National Unity Party (Romanian: Partidul Unităţii Naţionale a Românilor, PUNR) was a nationalist political party in Romania between 1990 and 2006.[1]

Romanian National Unity Party
Partidul Unității Națiunii Române
PresidentMircea Chelaru
FounderGheorghe Funar
Founded1990
Dissolved2006
Merged intoConservative Party
IdeologyRomanian nationalism
Christian right
National conservatism
Social conservatism
Anti-Hungarian sentiment
Political positionRight-wing to far-right

History

The PUNR was the first nationalist party in post-communist Romania, created in 1990, with Gheorghe Funar emerging as its leader. In the 1990 general elections the party ran as part of the Alliance for Romanian Unity (AUR) alongside the Republican Party (PR).[2] The alliance received 2.1% of the Chamber of Deputies vote in the 1990 general elections, winning nine seats. It also received 2.2% of the Senate vote, winning two seats.[3]

Funar went on to become mayor of Cluj-Napoca. In that office, he would promote Romanian national symbols, especially the blue, yellow and red flag, throughout the city. He was the party's candidate for president in the 1992 general elections, finishing third with 11% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections the PUNR emerged as the fourth-largest party in Parliament, winning 14 seats in the Senate and 30 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Funar was the party's presidential candidate again in the 1996 elections, but finished sixth in a field of 16 candidates, receiving only 3.2% of the vote. The PUNR also lost seats in Parliament, being reduced to seven Senate seats and 18 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The party did not nominate a presidential candidate in the 2000 elections, which saw its vote share fall to just 1.4%, resulting in it failing to cross the electoral threshold, losing its parliamentary representation.

Its last leader was former General Mircea Chelaru. On 12 February 2006, the PUNR was absorbed into the Conservative Party (PC).

Electoral history

Legislative elections
Election Chamber Senate Position Aftermath
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
1990 290,875 2.12
9 / 395
 300,473 2.15
2 / 119
  6th 
(within AUR)[lower-alpha 1]		 Support to FSN government (1990–1991)
Support to FSN-PNL-MER-PDAR government (1991–1992)
1992 836,547 7.72
30 / 341
 887,597 8.12
14 / 143
  4th  PDSR-PUNR-PRM-PSM (1992–1996)
1996 533,384 4.36
18 / 343
 518,962 4.22
7 / 143
  6th  Opposition to CDR-USD-UDMR (1996–2000)
2000 149,525 1.38
0 / 345
 154,761 1.42
0 / 140
  9th  Extra-parliamentary support to PDSR minority government (2000–2004)
2004 53,222 0.52
0 / 332
 56,414 0.55
0 / 137
  10th  Extra-parliamentary support to DA-PUR-UDMR (2004–2007)

Notes:

  1. AUR members: PUNR (all the mandates) and the Republican Party (no mandates).

Presidential elections
Election Candidate First round Second round
Votes % Position Votes Percentage Position
1990 did not compete
1992 Gheorghe Funar1,294,38810.8 3rd 
1996 Gheorghe Funar407,8283.2 6th 
2000 did not compete
2004 did not compete

See also

References
  1. Janusz Bugajski (1995). Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations, and Parties. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 466–. ISBN 978-0-7656-1911-2.
  2. 1990 Parliamentary Elections: Chamber of Deputies Archived 2003-01-07 at the Wayback Machine University of Essex
  3. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, pp1599–1600 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
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