By ALISON MUTLER
Associated Press Writer
November 30, 2004, 7:47 AM EST
BUCHAREST, Romania -- The leader of Romania's opposition party on Tuesday called for the results of weekend parliamentary and presidential elections to be annulled and for new votes to be held, claiming fraud.
Traian Basescu, who heads the centrist Justice and Truth Alliance and is running for president, claimed that election authorities had given an extra 160,000 ballots, or 2.5 percent of the votes, to his rival, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase.
"We have no doubt this is fraud ... We want the immediate dismissal of election authorities," Basescu said. "The entire electoral process is compromised. The repetition of the election is necessary."
Almost complete results released Tuesday showed the governing party in the lead in the parliamentary race, but without enough votes to form a government, forcing them to seek partners for a coalition. A runoff for the presidential race, which was also close, has been announced for Dec. 12.
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