Romania’s Prime Minister Resigns Amid Turmoil
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Romania’s prime minister resigned Monday after his Liberal party narrowly lost Sunday’s parliamentary election amid public concern over corruption and political upheaval.
Ludovic Orban said he stepped down to allow a successor of his PNL party to form a centrist coalition government against the victorious opposition leftists.
In a vote seen as crucial for the troubled nation’s future in the European Union, the left-wing Social Democrats (PSD) failed to win enough votes to form a functioning majority against Orban.
The PSD had battled accusations of fiscal populism, corruption and of making efforts to force courts to protect party faithful suspected of corruption. PNL took the reins of a rocky minority government a year ago after the Social Democrats ran through three prime ministers and dozens of minister reshuffles.
With most votes counted, the PSD had won just under 30 percent of votes for both parliament houses, while Liberals got 25 percent. The centrist alliance USR-Plus, a likely coalition partner for the Liberals, won 15 percent.
18 MILLION
Over 18 million Romanians were eligible to vote, although turnout dipped to historic lows amid concerns over becoming infected with the coronavirus.
Polling stations required voters to wear masks, maintain social distancing and sanitize their hands — but no additional virus precautions were put in place.
By Sunday afternoon, only a quarter of those who were eligible to vote had cast their ballots, according to data released by Romania’s Central Election Bureau.
The data put voter turnout at 33 percent, a record low for a parliamentary election in the post-communist country.
Romania saw a bloody revolution in 1989, which ended decades of communist dictatorship.
More than three decades later, analysts suggest that a new government could break with perceived autocratic tendencies, such as seen in nearby Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is in power.
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