Bucharest  - The Romanian parliament Wednesday rejected the governing team put together by an independent economic expert tapped by President Traian Basescu, thus continuing the political stalemate in the run-up to presidential elections scheduled for November 22.

Basescu had chosen finance and economics expert Lucian Croitoru to form the new government, despite the fact that Croitoru did not have the support of the opposition Socialists (PSD) and Liberals (PNL), and was therefore expected to lose the vote.

Croitoru was voted down by a majority of 250 votes against, with 189 in favour.

A 65 per cent parliamentary majority of the PSD, PNL, and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), a political organisation representing ethnic Hungarians, favour Klaus Johannis, the mayor of Sibiu, to form the government.

Basescu now faces time pressure in choosing a new candidate to form the cabinet, given that a functioning government is needed to carry out reforms and produce a budget for 2010 before a December deadline set by the IMF, EU, and World Bank.

Without this aid the Romanian government may have difficulties paying salaries and pensions at the year's end.(dpa)