Iohannis Sweeps Election
Photograph of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Photo courtesy of Euronews.
On 24 Nov. 2019, Romania held the second round of its Presidential election. The centrist incumbent, Klaus Iohannis, was elected in a landslide of over 66 per cent.
The Presidential election was held in the wake of a political crisis in the nation, centred around judicial reform and the Romanian Social Democratic Party.
In October, Romanian Prime-Minister Viorica Dancila, and her government were ousted in a no-confidence vote over accusations of incompetence and misuse of European Union funds, according to Deutsche Welle.
After Ms Dancila's government fell, Mr Iohannis asked National Liberal Party leader, Ludovic Orban, to form a government. Mr Iohannis, who is also a member of the centrist and pro-European National Liberal Party, then had to deal with the prospect of holding early parliamentary elections.
In the first round of voting, the leader of the liberal Save Romania Union, Dan Barna, came in third place. However, it was clear that Mr Iohannis and Ms Dancila (who was running under the Social Democratic Party) would face off in the second round.
The Social Democratic Party has come under criticism from the European Union and the press, due to reports that their judicial and anti-corruption 'reforms' were making little progress, and were making a negative impact, according to Euronews.
Ms Dancila secured less than 34 per cent in the election, and her Social Democratic Party are expected considerable losses in the next Parliamentary election.
As reported by The Guardian, Mr Iohannis has pledged to restart judicial reforms and has a broad mandate to do so, due to the majority turnout and a political ally as Prime-Minister.
Mr Iohannis also stated to press that is was 'too early' for parliamentary elections to happen now, ruling out an early election.
The National Liberal Party is a much more pro-West and pro-European organisation than the Social Democratic Party, as their leaders work much more cohesively with Brussels and the European People's Party.
Last year, the Social Democratic Party came under fire, due to the sacking of Laura Kovesi, a prominent anti-corruption prosecutor. Most observers saw her termination was because she endangered corrupt officials within the Social Democratic Party, such as former Party President Liviu Dragnea, according to The Economist.
Ms Kovesi was recently made a European Union Prosecutor under the new European Commission.
Mr Iohannis played a role in the original anti-corruption protests against the Social Democrats and is seen by many Romanians to be an honest reformer, as reported by Radio Free Europe.
Romania has seen years of corruption and political instability. Only time can tell whether Mr Iohannis and the National Liberal Party can make positive reforms.
Sources:
"Romania government collapses after no-confidence vote". DW, Deutsche Welle, 10 Oct. 2019,
https://www.dw.com/en/romania-government-collapses-after-no-confidence-vote/a-50772780
Jamieston, Alastair. "Romania president Klaus Iohannis wins second term with huge victory over socialist Dancila". Euronews, Euronews SA, 24 Nov. 2019,
"Romanian centrist president re-elected by a landslide". The Guardian, Guardian Media Group, 24 Nov. 2019,
"An enemy of crooked politicians is fired in Romania". The Economist, The Economist Group, 19 July 2018,
https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/07/19/an-enemy-of-crooked-politicians-is-fired-in-romania
"Iohannis Set For Big Win In Romanian Presidential Election". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, U.S. Agency for Global Media, 23 Nov. 2019,
https://www.rferl.org/a/romania-iohannis-dancila-presidential-election-runoff/30288488.html