Social Democrats Win Romanian Parliamentary Elections, Preliminary Results Say
Two Romanian women cast their ballots at Cezar Bolliac Primary School polling station in Bucharest, Romania, 01 December 2024. Photo: EFE/EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT
December 1, 2024 Hour: 5:16 pm
The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) has reportedly won the parliamentary elections in Romania with 26% of the vote, according to the first polls after the closing of polling stations.
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The ultra-nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) would have been second with up to 20% of the vote, followed by the ruling National Liberal Party (NLP, centre-right), with around 15%, and in fourth place would be the nationalist formation of Union Save Romania (USR), with up to 15%.
Analysts predicted a shift to the right in Romania following the unexpected victory of independent presidential candidate Calin Georgescu a week ago, when he received almost 23% of the vote and polls failed miserably because they did not predict his victory.
If the polls are fulfilled, the PSD would lose less than three percentage points compared to the past legislative of 2020, while the NLP would accumulate a ten-point drop and parliamentary control will be a key target for European forces as a counterweight to Georgescu should he take over the presidency.
AUR leader George Simion has promised that if he comes to power he will suspend military aid to Ukraine and, in a similar rhetoric to that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, he says he wants “peace” and a “truce” in the conflict.
Simion presents himself as an advocate of traditional values and the “true Romanians”, with a rhetoric that mixes nationalist, irredentist, religious and populist aspects and supports Georgescu in the second round of presidential elections.
Las week, the Social-democrat PM Marcel Ciolacu resigned as leader of the Social Democratic Party after being eliminated from the race for the presidency in the first round of the elections, just a week before the general elections.
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: EFE