Candidates in Romanian polls outed as former Securitate informants

The newly formed CNSAS office in charge of old Securitate files was quoted as saying by the national press that the revelations had no political or legal repercussions for the 38 candidates from both the ruling anti-communist coalition and the opposition. Politician Alexandru Paleologu was the only one among the 38 who has outed himself as a former Securitate informant.

Senate president Mircea Ionescu-Quintus announced that he would take legal action against the CNSAS for implication him, saying the files on him were forged. Of the 38 former Securitate collaborators 17 had supplied the secret police with information on third persons that sufficed to subject them to persecution by the communist regime, while 21 supplied information that was of no consequence. Fourteen of those outed are members of the Democratic Alliance of Romania (DAR), a alliance of centre-right parties, while the leftist Party of Social Democracy (PDSR), the former communists, came second with eight candidates.

Five members of the party representing the Hungarian minority were also uncovered. CNSAS has scrutinised the past of 20,000 persons in connection with its search for possible Securitate links. However, the probe was still unfinished Thursday as some parties had failed to submit their lists of candidates to the body.

(dpa)