ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 18, 1996 TAG: 9611180095
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
After seven years of government rooted in the communist past of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Romanians made a clear break Sunday and elected a mild-mannered geology professor and reformer, Emile Constantinescu, as president.
Ion Iliescu, Romania's leader since the overthrow of Ceausescu in 1989 and a former senior official in the Communist Party, conceded defeat soon after the polls closed Sunday evening.
The victory of Constantinescu, combined with the victory two weeks ago of his opposition coalition, called the Democratic Convention, in parliamentary elections creates a totally new political alignment in Romania.
The dumping of Iliescu, 66, reflected deep disillusionment among all sectors of society with status-quo policies that brought about falling living standards and economic decline even as a coterie of former Communists around the president flourished.
- The New York Times
LENGTH: Short : 29 linesby CNB