Three presidential candidates, including the prime minister and the mayor of Bucharest, on Sunday formally registered to run in November elections. Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, who is running for the leftist Social Democratic Party, said he deserved Romanians' vote because he was hardworking and would help the country join the European Union, expected in 2007. He said he would try to raise living standards if elected. Bucharest Mayor Traian Basescu, who is running for the centrist Justice and Truth Alliance, said he would work to consolidate Romania's sometimes fragile democracy and legal system. He stepped into the race after his former political partner Theodor Stolojan withdrew for health reasons. Corneliu Vadim Tudor, who will run for the nationalist Greater Romania Party, also presented his credentials. Many opinion polls are unreliable, but Nastase is believed to be currently the favorite candidate. Tudor was runner-up in the 2000 presidential elections. A candidate needs to secure more than half the vote in the first round to win outright. President Ion Iliescu has been president since communism ended in 1989, except for four years from 1996 to 2000.
