November 30, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 30.11.2024, 13:55
Elections. More than 18 million Romanian voters are called to the polls, on Sunday, on Romania’s National Day, to elect the future Parliament. In the diaspora, voting takes place over two days, Saturday and Sunday, in the record 950 polling stations set up abroad. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, several tens of thousands of voters have already gone to the polls to vote in the parliamentary elections. Most voted in the countries with the largest communities of Romanians: Italy, Germany, Spain and France. Almost 7,000 people registered to exercise their right to vote by mail (…) in the parliamentary elections.
CCR. The Constitutional Court of Romania postponed until December 2 the debates regarding the annulment of the first round of the presidential elections, requested by one of the candidates. On Thursday, the CCR requested the recount of all ballots from the first round, and is now waiting for the completion of this process. The independent candidate who came in first after the first round, Călin Georgescu, considered almost unanimously a pro-Russian extremist, criticized the CCR decision and accused the governing parties, PNL and PSD, of using state institutions for personal interests. The president of the Save Romania Union (center-right), Elena Lasconi, who qualified for the second round of the presidential elections, also accused the Constitutional Court of playing with national security. Prime Minister and Social-Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu, ranked third after the first round, has stated that he does not want to be a candidate after the recount of votes and will withdraw from the presidential race even if it is found that he is in second place. For his part, the interim president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Ilie Bolojan, says that the Court’s decision will increase tension in society, raise uncertainty and decrease trust in state institutions. The Central Electoral Bureau has set December 1 as the deadline for completing the vote recount. The process could, however, be prolonged. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed that the ballots from abroad are being shipped to Bucharest for recount.
Protest. For the fifth day in a row there’ve been protests in the capital against the sovereignist candidate Călin Georgescu, who managed to get the biggest number of votes in the first round of the presidential elections, almost 23% of the total. The protesters, especially young people, are unhappy with the independent candidate’s anti-European, legionary, fascist-inspired speech, as well as his pro-Russian statements. Similar protests have taen place in Iasi (north-east) and Brasov (center).
Celebration. Christians celebrate today Saint Andrew the Apostle, the Spiritual Protector of Romania. According to tradition, Saint Andrew is the only apostle who arrived on the territory of the country, in Dobrogea, where he founded the first Christian communities. Saint Andrew is one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. He was born in Bethsaida, in Galilee. He died as a martyr in the city of Patras in Greece, crucified on an X-shaped cross. Since 2001, Saint Andrew’s Day has been a national church holiday. Approximately 970 thousand Romanians are celebrating their name today.
Georgia. Georgia has announced that more than 100 people were arrested in the second day of protests sparked by the government’s decision to suspend EU integration negotiations. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conveyed a message of solidarity with the Georgian people. “As a member of the European Union, Romania is fully in solidarity with the Georgian people, in their legitimate struggle for dignity, freedom and the European future,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in the message. The situation in Georgia has been tense since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in elections at the end of October, which the opposition and President Salome Zourabichvili say were rigged. In this context, the European Parliament adopted a resolution stating that the elections were incorrect and requested their rerun. Moreover, the European legislature requires international supervision, to guarantee their correctness.
Handball. The Romanian women’s national handball team defeated the Czech team 29-28 (11-13), on Friday evening, in Debrecen, Hungary, in its debut match at the European Women’s Handball Championship. The tricolors are part of group B, along with the Czech Republic, Montenegro and Serbia. On Sunday, Romania will play against Montenegro, and on Tuesday against Serbia, also in Debrecen. This is the first continental final tournament with 24 teams at the start. (MI)
