Presidential Elections in Romania

Klaus Iohannis, the candidate of the Christian Liberal Alliance and mayor of Sibiu, has won the second round of the presidential race in Romania.

Roxana Vasile, 17.11.2014, 19:46

“The people are always right”, said a resigned Victor Ponta, the candidate of the left, following Sunday’s presidential runoff. In a spirit of fair play, he congratulated Klaus Iohannis:

Klaus Iohannis: “First of all, I would like to thank all Romanians who went to the polls. The people are always right. I called Mr Iohannis to congratulate him for his victory. Both my colleagues and I, as long as we hold public offices, will do our duty for the country.”

The people denied Victor Ponta the presidential seat, which is now reserved for Klaus Iohannis — a man initially perceived as an outsider, who won the race with all odds against him. After the first round, Victor Ponta was the big favourite to win the race, not only on account of the 40% he won, but also the support of other first round candidates. On Sunday, however, voters turned up in huge numbers to create an election tsunami wave that swept away Victor Ponta’s first round percentages and the Social Democrats’ hope of giving the country a president other than the already legendary Ion Iliescu.

Political commentators in Bucharest believe the massive voter turnout on Sunday was the result of society’s reaction to the possibility that a party which is still far from cleansing its ranks of corrupt members may win complete power in Romania. A catalyst of the robust turnout, which, at 64%, is the highest in the last 18 years, was a sense of solidarity with Romanian voters abroad, who had to wait for hours to cast their votes in the first round, something that reminded them of communist-era humiliations. Klaus Iohannis thanked voters who turned up in large numbers and to whom he owes his victory:

Klaus Iohannis : “25 years after the Romanian Revolution, people have left their houses to fight for their right to vote. The way in which elections were organised in the diaspora tells me that we need to change the legislation in this area. The government will have to take responsibility for how they organised these elections.”

Klaus Iohannis’ victory was celebrated in the streets, in Bucharest and other big cities. As a man who promised normality, deeds instead of words and a job well done, Iohannis is now expected to act on his promises and refuse compromising deals, comply with the rule of law and ensure the independence of the judiciary.