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image captionOrban said he was not clinging to any position
Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has resigned after his party s disappointing performance in parliamentary elections.
Despite losing to the opposition Social Democrats (PSD), Mr Orban said he still hoped that his National Liberal Party (NLP) could put together a majority coalition to choose his successor.
With 95% of ballots counted, the PSD had 30% of the vote to the NLP s 25%.
Mr Orban said he was not clinging to any position . For me the national interest comes before the party and personal one, he said in a televised statement.
Despite winning, it is unlikely that the opposition PSD will take charge, as the NLP has more potential allies.
Diluting the cleanser
The election result is unlikely to make the country any cleaner
C
ORRUPTION IS THE biggest political issue across most of eastern Europe, and Romania is no exception. In recent years the streets of Bucharest, its capital, have filled with huge demonstrations against crooked officials and their attempts to weaken the rule of law. Yet on December 6th, when it was time to vote, the city was eerily quiet. Just 32% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the general election, the lowest turnout since the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Some blamed covid-19, others lacklustre politicians and their almost non-existent campaign. It was a sadly missed chance to elect a government with a strong mandate to tackle graft.
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Elections 2020: A small victory for the right, but Romania won’t deviate from its Western path
December 10, 2020 Share
These elections were never going to be easy – COVID-19 has revealed the catastrophic state of Romania’s healthcare system and poverty is rising in the midst of a recession – but voter turnout was at an unexpected record low of 33 percent.
In the end, the Social Democrat Party (PSD) secured 30 percent of the vote, followed by the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) with 25 percent, and the pro-EU Union for Romania’s Salvation (USR-PLUS) with 15 percent. In what came as a shock to most, the newly established far-right Alliance for Romanian Unity (AUR) secured 9 percent of the vote and will now likely enter parliament.