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More surprises in the aftermath of Romania’s presidential election
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Race
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| Contributor | Bojicat |
| Last Edited | Bojicat Nov 25, 2024 08:37am |
| Category | News |
| News Date | Nov 25, 2024 08:00am |
| Description | Elena Lasconi, leader of the USR (Save Romania Union) pushed ahead, ousting Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who was a clear favourite to win the first round.
Romania’s presidential election defied all opinion poll predictions – not only it was Călin Georgescu, and not George Simion, who made it to the second round to represent the anti-NATO camp, but incumbent PM Marcel Ciolacu didn’t make it for run-off.
A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and centre-right opposition party leader will likely face each other in the 8 December presidential run-off vote, results showed, in an unexpected outcome that threatens Romania's staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.
With almost all votes counted, hard-right Călin Georgescu and centre-right contender Elena Lasconi both had around 22%, the difference between them being paper-thin.
Lasconi pushed ahead of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who was a clear favourite to win the first round, propelled by strong support from Romanian voters living abroad.
Romania's president has a semi-executive role that gives him or her control over defence spending - likely to be a difficult issue as Bucharest comes under pressure to uphold NATO spending goals during Donald Trump's second term as US president while trying to reduce a heavy fiscal deficit.
Some opinion polls had Georgescu running at around 5% of the vote in the run-up to the election, after barely registering in earlier polls.
Political commentator Radu Magdin said the difference between his single-digit popularity and Sunday's result was without precedent since Romania shed communism in 1989.
"Never in our 34 years of democracy have we seen such a surge compared to surveys," Magdin said. |
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