Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has announced that he will not run for president even if he comes second in a recount of the votes of the first round of presidential elections.
Mr. Ciolacu came a close but embarrassing third in the November 24 presidential ballot. The next day he announced his resignation as leader of the Social Democratic Party.
Romania’s Constitutional Court on Thursday sensationally announced a recount that could potentially place Ciolacu above centrist mayor, Elena Lasconi, who won less than 3,000 votes more than the prime minister. If he takes second place after that, he could qualify for the runoff for Romania’s top job.
The recount will be complete on December 1, after polls for parliamentary elections have closed. Final results of the recount will be announced on Tuesday. The runoff is on December 8.
“If the PSD loses, we don’t make a scene like others do with all kinds of appeals, “he said.
He said he does not want the second place, as he’s focused on Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
“First place in the parliamentary elections means that the future government will have a PSD prime minister,” Ciolacu said.
“To calm down the propaganda: if it is proven after the recount that I was treated unfairly, I am announcing that I will withdraw from the presidential race. I do NOT want second place! I’m not interested. I just want Romanians to find out the truth, which is more important than my candidacy. And then Romanians will know how to punish those who stole, faster than the institutions will.”
He added that he together with “all the people of good faith in the country” was tired of “this nauseating propaganda”.
“We must know clearly if the vote was flawed Or more to the point: if it was STOLEN! I recommend the Central Electoral Bureau urgently accredit all civic associations, especially those that were in the polling stations and have experience in elections, who want to participate as independent observers in the process of recounting the votes of the presidential elections. And if someone stole, they should answer to the Romanians,” the outgoing PSD leader wrote.
He calls for the mobilization of his colleagues and Romanians for Sunday’s elections: “The 1st place in the parliamentary elections means that the future government will have a PSD prime minister! That is, the continuation of the projects started and the development of this country.”
The CCR ordered the recount of the votes from the first round of the presidential elections, and the BEC established how this is to be done.
The way of working is seen as lacking transparency, without video surveillance, made by far fewer people than on election night, which raises suspicions of fraud.
In the public space, there have been speculations that Marcel Ciolacu would have benefited from the recount of votes, the difference between him and Elena Laasconi, ranked second, being small.
