After the election victory: is the Romanian Prime Minister about to resign?

The PSD remains the strongest force in the country with 22.52 percent, as the Central Election Authority in Bucharest announced on Monday after counting about 98 percent of the votes. The far-right party AUR achieved 17.76 percent and came in second place. Two other far-right parties have also reached parliament: SOS Romania with about seven percent and POT with almost six percent. They are even further to the right than AUR.

Social Democrats want to lead the government
In an initial response, Prime Minister Ciolacu said that voters had proven at the ballot box that Romanian democracy was solid, and that the PSD had also understood the electorate’s warning and was well aware of its responsibility to the country. Ciolacu, who announced his immediate resignation as president of the PSD after his defeat in the presidential elections, also announced that his party would claim the mandate to form a government.

According to media reports quoting party insiders, the PSD leader is now considering resigning in light of his party’s victory in the parliamentary elections – a corresponding announcement could be made on Monday afternoon.

Three right-wing extremist parties have more than 32 percent
The head of the right-wing extremist small party SOS, Diana Sosoaca, also announced on Monday evening that she would demand the government mandate – calling on all sovereigntist forces that had reached parliament to jointly establish a minority government, Sosoaca said. Thanks to the votes of some Romanians living abroad in parliament, which have yet to be counted, the three right-wing extremist parties will probably eventually reach more than 32 percent.

However, the three parties are in complete disagreement: both SOS and POT are splinter parties, founded by renegade ex-AUR parliamentarians who disagree with the current AUR leadership. AUR leader George Simion did not respond to Sosoaca’s demand at all, announcing that his party, although in second place, had no intention of claiming the mandate to form a government.

High tension before the ruling of the Constitutional Court
The task of forming a government could also potentially be given to a right-wing extremist head of state if the surprise winner from the first round, Calin Georgescu, also wins the second election. The Constitutional Court in Bucharest will decide on Monday whether and when the second round of voting will take place, as the first round of elections on November 24 was controversial.

Last week, the Constitutional Court ordered a recount of all ballots from the first round of the presidential election after a losing candidate challenged them. After presentation of the new counting results, the court will decide whether the first voting round will be recognized or annulled.