November 24, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 24.11.2024, 23:39
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – Social-Democrat leader, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has won the first round of the presidential election, held on Sunday in Romania. After counting approximately 70% of total votes, Marcel Ciolacu ranks first in preliminary standings with 23%. In runner-up position with 22% is Călin Georgescu, a surprising independent candidate, accused of supporting Russia and eulogizing representatives of the Romanian far-right in the inter-war period. According to exit polls, Marcel Ciolacu grabbed 24%, while the leader of Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, is in second place with 19.6%, followed by Călin Georgescu with 17%. Over 9.4 million Romanians, accounting for over 52% of people on permanent lists, cast their votes on Sunday. Around 800 thousand Romanians also voted abroad. The difference between urban and rural areas was approximately 2 million votes. A total of 13 candidates enrolled in the race, 9 backed by political parties and 4 independent candidates. The second round of the presidential election is slated for December 8, while the parliamentary election will be held on December 1, the National Day of Romania.
REFERENDUM – The local referendum called by Bucharest Mayor General, Nicuşor Dan, has exceeded the 30% threshold required for validation. According to data provided in real time by the Permanent Electoral Authority, over 41% of Bucharest residents on the electoral lists had voted. The majority response to the three questions was “Yes”. They had to answer two questions proposed by Nicusor Dan, related to the way of distributing the money between the General City Hall and Bucharest’s 6 sectors and the issuance of building permits in the Capital. A third question was added at the initiative of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which refers to combating drug use in schools.
COP29 – At the UN climate summit in Azerbaijan, COP29, richer countries pledged to grant a record 300 billion USD to developing countries to help prepare for and prevent climate change. The decision followed at the end of negotiations that led to the extension of the summit by 33 hours and that almost collapsed. “It has been a difficult road, but we have reached an agreement”, said the head of the UN climate agency, Simon Stiell. The funding promised until 2035 “is too weak, too late and too ambiguous”, Kenyan Ali Mohamed said, speaking on behalf of the group of African countries. His counterpart from Malawi, which represents the 45 poorest countries on the planet, Evans Njewa, denounced the agreement as “lacking ambition”.
ICR – The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) announced the official opening, on November 26, of its representative office in Tokyo, Japan. “Japan is a center of interest for cultural operators from Romania and I am confident our center in Tokyo will significantly contribute to the Romanian presence in Japanese cultural life”, ICR president Liviu Jicman said. In turn, the Romanian ambassador to Japan, Ovidiu Raeţchi, said that the opening of the ICR branch in the Japanese capital is a strategic initiative that aims to strengthen cultural relations between Romania and Japan, to support international artistic cooperation and to offer the Japanese public the opportunity to discover and appreciate the richness and diversity of Romanian cultural heritage. The first cultural actions of the new center will be the exhibition of works from the collection of the Japanese photographer Kosey Miya, which capture the charm of Maramureş, and a concert of the Japanese artist Fumiko Sakura. With the establishment of the Romanian cultural center in Tokyo, the number of ICR representative offices abroad reaches 19. (LS & VP)
