December 11, 2016 UPDATE

According to exit polls, the left-wing Social Democratic Party won Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Newsroom, 11.12.2016, 21:20

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS According to exit polls, the left-wing Social Democratic Party won Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Romania with 44-46% of the votes, followed by the National Liberal Party with 21-22%, the Save Romania Union with 9-10%, and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians with over 6%. The People’s Movement Party, established by the former president Traian Basescu, is close to the 5% threshold. The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, has stated that Romanians’ votes must be respected and has stressed that Romania is an island of stability in the region. Dragnea has also said that on Sunday Romanians voted for economic growth, more money in their pockets, lower taxes and fees, support for the business environment, better paid jobs for the youth. He has also stated that negotiations are to start with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for the formation of a majority. The President of the National Liberal Party Alina Gorghiu has voiced hope for a good final result for the liberals. The leader of the Save Romania Union, Nicusor Dan, believes that for a party which was born in February 2016 to become the third biggest political force in Romania is exceptional and a victory for democracy. He has also stated that if the Social Democratic Party forms a majority, the Save Romania Union will not be part of it. The president of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania Kelemen Hunor has stated that result of this year’s parliamentary elections has resumed the Union’s rightful place on the Romanian political scene. The voter turnout in this year’s parliamentary elections was of approximately 40%, less than in 2012. More than 105,000 Romanians voted abroad.

MOURNING Romanias President Klaus Iohannis and the Romanian Foreign Ministry have firmly condemned the double bomb attack that rocked Istanbul on Saturday night and sent messages of condolences to the families of the victims. Both the Romanian President and the Foreign Ministry reiterated Romanias commitment to the world efforts to fight terrorism. The US, Great Britain and NATO have also condemned the Istanbul attacks. Turkey has declared a day of national mourning after the two attacks, which claimed 38 lives, mostly police officers, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey will fight terrorism “to the end.” The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a radical group linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has claimed responsibility for the attacks carried out in Istanbul.

Foreign Affairs Council On Monday, Romanias Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu will attend in Brussels, alongside his EU counterparts, the monthly meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the agenda of talks includes topics such as migration and the relation between the EU and Africa. Also, the participants will discuss the latest developments in Syria.

CORRUPTION Pediatric surgeon Gheorghe Burnei, Head of the Pediatric Surgery and Orthopedic Clinic of the Marie Curie Hospital in Bucharest, was taken into custody on Saturday. A celebrity in his field of activity, doctor Burnei is suspected of acts of corruption, after several parents complained he had requested money from them to perform surgeries on their children and he reportedly made non-homologated experiments on children. Also on Saturday, the former manager of the Malaxa Hospital in Bucharest, doctor Florin Secureanu, was placed in preventive arrest for 30 days. In one of the most resounding corruption scandals on the Romanian medical scene, Secureanu is accused of bribe taking and aggravated embezzlement. The national anti-corruption prosecutors who investigate the case claim that, in the May 2009 – November 2016 period, the former manager designed and applied a scheme to illegally cash in sums of money from the hospitals pay office on a daily basis, accouting for some 500 thousand Euros.

ROME The Italian President Sergio Mattarella received the acting foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni at the Quirinal Palace on Sunday and asked him to form a new government, after Matteo Renzi stepped down following the failure of the referendum on the constitutional reform, held on December 4, the Italian presidency has announced. Paolo Gentiloni, 62, a close of Renzis, will form the cabinet and then will face Parliament for a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister designate has mentioned the elimination of the effects of the recent quakes in central Italy and the adoption of a new electoral law among its top priorities.

ACCIDENT Bulgaria has declared a day of national mourning for the victims of the accident in Hitrino, in the north-east of the country, where at least eight people died and dozens were wounded following a gas explosion on a derailed tanker train early Saturday. One of the two tank cars, carrying propane-butane and propylene, exploded and the deflagration destroyed 50 buildings. After the incident, the entire village was evacuated and the intervention teams started a complicated operation to gather the liquid gas in other tanks.

HANDBALL On Sunday, Romanias national womens handball team defeated Hungary 29-21, in the first match of the so-called main groups of the European Championship hosted by Sweden. Next, Romania will face the Czech Republic, on December 13, and Denmark a day later. In the first stage of the competition, Romania lost 21-23 to the defending European and world champion Norway, defeated the Olympic champion Russia 22-17, and outperformed Croatia 31-26. Romanias national team is coached by a Spaniard, Ambros Martin, who last month replaced the Swedish Tomas Ryde, under whose guidance Romania won the bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Denmark.