20 November, 2019

Election campaign continues ahead of the second round of the presidential elections scheduled on Sunday./ 26th Gaudeamus Book Fair organised by Radio Romania gets under way in Bucharest.

Newsroom, 20.11.2019, 14:00

Elections.
The election campaign ahead of the second round of Romania’s presidential
elections on Sunday continues until Saturday morning at 7 am local time. The
incumbent president Klaus Iohannis, who is endorsed by the National Liberal
Party, now in power, is facing the former Social Democrat prime minister
Viorica Dancila. In the first round, which included 14 candidates, Iohannis won almost 38% of
the votes and Dancila a little over 22%. Voter turnout stood at 51.19%. In the
diaspora, where voting took place over three days, a record turnout was
reported, with 675,000 people casting their ballots. The second round of voting
is also taking place over three days abroad: on Friday between 12 am and 9 pm
and on Saturday and Sunday between 7 am and 9 pm, with the possibility for the voting
to be extended until midnight. The foreign ministry has already distributed the
materials needed for the voting process abroad. 4 million, six hundred and
eight thousand and 175 ballots were distributed among the 835 polling stations set
up abroad, 100,000 more ballots than was requested in the first round.

NATO. The Romanian foreign minister
Bogdan Aurescu is attending a meeting of NATO foreign ministers meant to
prepare the summit of allied heads of state and government in London on the 3rd
and 4th of December. Talks are looking at the implementation of the
agreed measures aimed at adjusting the Alliance to the current security context,
both with regard to the consolidation of NATO’s deterrence and defence posture
and to projecting stability. The Romanian minister will have a series of
bilateral talks with his counterparts from allied and partner states on the
sidelines of the meeting.

Exercise. The
Romanian King Ferdinand frigate has taken part in an international anti-submarine
warfare exercise organised by the Turkish Navy in the Mediterranean Sea and
which is coming to a close today. According to the Navy Chief of Staff, the
Romanian crew have carried out specific training activities in Turkey’s
territorial waters and neighbouring international waters alongside colleagues
from Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, Jordan, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, the
United States and Turkey. According to the Romanian Navy, the participation of the
King Ferdinand frigate in this exercise contributes to enhancing the
interoperability of the Romanian and partner forces, and to promoting the professionalism
of the Romanian Army in a multinational environment.

Book fair. The 26th edition of the
Gaudeamus Book Fair organised by Radio Romania has got under way in Bucharest. 900
different events are scheduled over the five days of the fair and 230
exhibitors will be presenting their offers from various fields. This year’s
edition of the fair is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the
anti-communist revolution of December 1989. The poet Mircea Dinescu and the
actor Ion Caramitru, who were prominent figures of the revolution, are honorary
co-presidents of the fair.

Football. Romania’s Under-21 side on Tuesday drew nil-all away against Northern
Ireland, in a Group 8 match as part of their qualifying campaign for the 2021
European Football Championship. Romania are in second place in their group,
five points behind the leaders Denmark. In the seniors’ competition, Romania
categorically lost on Monday nil-5 to Spain in an away match and finished
fourth in their group. Manager Cosmin Contra has resigned after the loss to
Spain. Romania still have a chance to qualify in March, in the Nations League
play-offs. The draw for Euro 2020 will be held in Bucharest on the 30th
of November. The Romanian capital will also host four championship matches,
three from the group stages and a quarterfinal.