December 1, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 01.12.2024, 23:20
Elections. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) is ranked first after Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Romania, according to exit poll data presented at the end of the voting by TV stations in Bucharest. According to the polls, PSD got approximately 25% of the votes. In second place is AUR (nationalist opposition) with 19%. USR (in opposition) and PNL (co-ruling with PSD) would have received around 15.5% of the votes. UDMR is, as usual, on the electoral threshold of five percent. The populist parties SOS Romania and the Young People’s Party are also said to have crossed the threshold. The turnout exceeded 52%.
Statements. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has stated that he voted in Sunday’s parliamentary elections for a European country. “It is a very important vote, because the laws in Romania are voted on in Parliament, the Government is voted on in Parliament” – said Iohannis, who, this month, ends his second and last five-year presidential term to which the Constitution entitles him . “This December 1st is about choosing between stability and chaos, between development and austerity” says in a message posted on Facebook the Social Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who pleads for a Parliament that “keeps things under control”, in order to don’t slide “down a dangerous slope”. In turn, the Senate Speaker Nicolae Ciucă (PNL, co-governing with PSD), spoke about the duty to put stability, dialogue and respect for citizens first, in a period marked by challenges and important decisions. From the opposition, the head of the Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, stated, upon leaving the polls, that she voted with the confidence that Romanians would remain free and that the future Parliament would adopt important laws for the prosperity of the people. The president of the AUR (nationalist opposition), George Simion, stated that he voted for the country’s children, for “Romanians who have gone into exile” and for Romania’s senior citizens. The independent candidate in the presidential elections, Călin Georgescu, a declared nationalist, but accused of pro-Russian sentiments, says that he voted “for Romania, for respect, for total political responsibility dedicated to the Romanian nation”. The president of UDMR (The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians) (over time, part of the various coalition governments in Bucharest, either right-wing or left-wing), Kelemen Hunor, stated that he voted for the future of the Hungarian community in Romania and for a strong representation of it in Parliament.
National Day. Romania’s National Day was celebrated, on Sunday, throughout the country, with parades, military and religious ceremonies. In the morning, the traditional parade took place in the capital, in which more than 2,500 Romanian and foreign soldiers participated. December 1st became an official holiday after the anti-communist Revolution of 1989, marking the completion, at the end of the First World War, in 1918, of the process of establishing the Romanian unitary national state. Then, all the provinces with a majority Romanian population under the rule of the neighboring multinational empires, Tsarist and Austro-Hungarian came under the authority of Bucharest: Bessarabia (east), Bucovina (northeast), Transylvania (center), Banat, Crisana and Maramureş (west) .
Messages. Representatives of foreign embassies in Bucharest wished Romania, which they consider a friend and reliable partner, ‘Happy National Day’, on December 1. The German ambassador, Peer Gebauer, wrote on the diplomatic mission’s Facebook page that his country and Romania are united by a wonderful friendship. Giles Portman, the British ambassador to Bucharest, described Romania as a close ally. The Ambassador of Israel, Lior Ben Dor, remembered that his parents and grandparents came from Romania. “Romania has a rich history, beautiful landscapes and hospitable people. For Israel, Romania will always be a close friend with whom we have a special relationship. I am grateful that I have the chance to contribute to strengthening the relations between our countries’, said Lior Ben Dor. The US Embassy in Bucharest also sent a congratulatory message through the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who stressed that Romania’s commitment to security and democracy in Europe is a model for all nations to follow. The head of American diplomacy stated that his country was proud to collaborate with Romania, to address global challenges and secure the prosperity and wellbeing of our peoples.
Ukraine. The invading Russian army claims to have taken control of two more settlements, Illinka and Petrivka, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow, quoted on Sunday by international press agencies, also states that its air defense has shot down, in the last 24 hours, 55 drones launched by Ukrainians. According to open source data, the Russians now have almost 20% of Ukraine’s territory and have advanced into Donetsk in the past two months at the fastest pace since March 2022. (MI)
