MADRID Dec. 2 () –
The count of the legislative elections held this Sunday in Romania has exceeded 96 percent and the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) remains the leading force in the Chamber of Deputies, with a five-point advantage over the far-right Alliance for the Unity of the Romanians (AUR).
The latest results provided by the Romanian news agency Mediafax give 22.5 percent of the votes to the PSD, which maintains its position against the AUR of Calin Georgescu, which obtains 17.7 percent of the support, containing up to moment the emergence of the extreme right and nationalism, protagonists of an enormous jump in popularity since the last elections.
They are followed by the liberals (PNL) with 13.6 percent of support and one point below, the conservative Union to Save Romania (USR) of Elena Lasconi, which, with barely 2,000 votes, gave the prime minister the ‘sorpasso’ , Marcel Ciolacu, in the first round of the presidential elections a week ago.
As for the Senate, the PSD is close to 23 percent, surpassing the AUR by five percentage points. Again behind are the PNL and the USR, with 14.5 and almost 12 percent respectively.
Although until now the ideological differences in Romania have been between conservatives and progressives, the current political situation has led to a confrontation between pro-Europeanists and Eurosceptic nationalists, from which impossible alliances such as that of social democrats and the USR could emerge.
A “very possible” scenario that was already suggested during the week by Prime Minister Ciolacu, who added the Liberals, also in crisis, to this equation, all with the aim of not hindering the rest of Romania’s European aspirations, such as the adoption of the euro as currency.
Compounding the chaos of Romania’s election season, there is a court order for a recount of the first round of the Nov. 24 election after senior security officials alleged that the race was artificially tilted by Russian meddling. .
The decision by Romania’s Constitutional Court raises the possibility that it will order a repeat of the first round vote, a decision that could inflame voters’ anger over inflation, poverty and corruption.
The rise of the extreme right represents in any case a reinforcement for the surprising ultranationalist candidate Georgescu in the face of a hypothetical second round of the still uncertain presidential elections, which would pit him against Lasconi. Although Romania is a parliamentary democracy, the figure of the president influences the political agenda, making it difficult to govern without some collaboration.
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