With 95% of the vote counted on Monday, the populist Social Democratic Party (PSD), prone to corruption and economically reckless, won about 30% of the vote, followed by the Liberal Liberal National Party of Centroderecha by about 5%. The USR-Plus Progressive Alliance, which pledged to be part of any Social Democratic-led government, won about 15% of the vote.
Only two other parties crossed the 5% threshold to participate in parliament: the far-right alliance AUR, whose vocal opposition to coronavirus restrictions resumed with nearly 9% of the electorate, and the UDMR party, which represents the country’s Hungarian minority, which won. 6%.
Liberal national leader Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said Monday that coalition talks with the Social Democrats were out of the question, but did not make it clear how his party hoped to achieve a new ruling majority in the bicameral parliament of 465 seats.
“I need to be very clear, we will never negotiate with the PSD, we will let the PSD harm Romania,” Orban said.
The AUR alliance created just a year ago under the leadership of the anti-gay marriage activist and supported Orthodox Church clerics who defied pandemic restrictions in Romania to hold devout ceremonies. time placed in Spain and France.
Some four million Romanians living abroad, basically in Western Europe, have historically voted for reformist parties seeking to mix the country with the mainstream of the European Union, but the pandemic has disappointed classical loyalties.
National liberals have controlled Romania’s minority passing government since October 2019, when social democrats lost a vote of confidence in parliament after a chaotic term that saw it pass through three ministers and dozens of ministers in just 3 years. attracted a strong COMPLAINT from the EU over its interference in the judiciary and a cascade of corruption scandals involving prominent members.
But he challenged the nominal polls to the nominal winner of Sunday’s vote with unattainable promises to maintain Romania’s welfare state style and after the national-liberal minority government was harshly criticized for its pandemic management.
Romania suffered widespread poverty even before the pandemic, with more than 25% of the population of another 19 million people living on less than $5. 50 a day. The pandemic exacerbated structural problems, adding the near collapse of the public physical care system.
Due to the pandemic and virus restrictions, Romania’s budget deficit is expected to increase this year to around 9% of gross domestic product, up from 4. 3% in 2019. one million infections and almost a portion of the more than 12,300 virus-related deaths in the country in the past two months alone.
Only 33% of the potential Romanian electorate attended the polls on Sunday, up from nearly 39. 5% in 2016. Observers traditionally attributed the traditionally low turnout to fears of voter infection, but also to the widespread disillusionment of the Romanian political class.
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