Romanian PM Ciolacu Resigns as Head of Social Democrats After Losing Election
Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu, 2024. X/ @euronewsfr
November 26, 2024 Hour: 8:00 am
For the first time since 1989, the PSD has failed to get its candidate into the second round of the presidential elections.
On Monday, Romania’s outgoing Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned as leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) after being eliminated from the race for the presidency in the first round of the elections, just a week before the general elections.
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Ciolacu finished third in the first round of the presidential election yesterday, securing 19.5% of the votes. He trailed behind the pro-Russian ultranationalist Calin Georgescu (22.9%) and the right-wing candidate Elena Lasconi (19.7%), who will face off for the presidency in the decisive second round on December 8.
The outgoing prime minister stated that he would continue to lead the party until after the parliamentary elections on Sunday, December 1. The PSD currently governs in a grand coalition with the liberal-conservative National Liberal Party (PNL).
Ciolacu congratulated his two rivals advancing to the second round and declared that his party accepts the results, despite the narrow 0.2 percentage point difference between his tally and Lasconi’s.
“The rules of democracy and the significance of the second (electoral) round are more important than our personal interests. I resigned last night. I will not run in the next elections within the PSD,” said the Social Democratic leader.
This marks the first time since the fall of Romania’s communist regime in 1989 that the PSD has failed to get its candidate into the second round of the presidential elections. Ciolacu had led the PSD since November 2019, when the party’s previous president, Viorica Dancila, stepped down after losing the presidential election to the outgoing conservative president, Klaus Iohannis.
One of the frontrunners to take over the leadership of the PSD is Sorin Grindeanu, the current Minister of Transport, who was ousted as prime minister in 2017 by a no-confidence vote from his own Social Democratic colleagues. Another potential candidate being considered is Mihai Tudose, who succeeded Grindeanu as prime minister.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
