November 28, 2024

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 28.11.2024, 13:55

Elections. The judges of the Constitutional Court of Romania are ruling, today, on two requests to annul the result of the first round of the presidential elections on November 24, submitted by two of the candidates. One of the notifications claims that the first ranked in the voting options, the independent Călin Georgescu, reported zero campaign expenses, although he had extensive online promotion activity, which would have required substantial logistical and financial resources. The other complain reads that members of the Save Romania Union, whose leader is the second-ranked Elena Lasconi, launched electoral appeals while Romanians in the diaspora were still voting. According to the law, the Constitutional Court can annul the elections if the voting and the establishment of the results took place fraudulently, in such a way as to change the assignment of the mandate or, as the case may be, the order of candidates who can participate in the second round of voting. If the requests are rejected, the Constitutional Court will, also today, validate the elections of November 24, so that the electoral campaign for the second round of voting, on December 8, can officially begin on Friday. We recall that, between the two rounds of the presidential elections, the parliamentary elections will also take place on December 1.

SCND. Today, a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense is taking place in Bucharest. According to the press release issued by the Presidency, there is only one item on the agenda: the analysis of potential threats to national security generated by the actions of state and non-state cyber actors on some IT&C infrastructures, used as support for the electoral process. Yesterdy, the vice-president of the National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications, Pavel Popescu, announced that he would demand the banning of the Chinese social network TikTok in Romania, based on evidence of a potential manipulation of the electoral process by the platform. The Presidential Administration specified, a few days ago, at the request of journalists, that President Klaus Iohannis was not informed about the existence of risks of influencing the presidential elections or about external interference in the election process.

Church. The Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has reminded its clergy that they are prohibited from supporting candidates or participating in electoral campaigns as supporters. They are required to maintain their neutrality both in public statements and in practical activity. The political option of the priest will be expressed only by secret personal vote ,the heads of the Orthodox Church have stressed, given the parliamentary elections due on December 1, the National Day, and the second round of the presidential elections, on December 8. At the same time, the Synod reiterates its appeal to the leaders of the political parties not to allow the recruitment of members from the ranks of the clergy, nor the use for political purposes of church personnel, locations, services and symbols. BOR does not recommend supporting any political party or any political ideology, but urges all citizens to make choices aimed at achieving the good of the country and promoting Christian values in society. At the last population census in Romania, in 2021, 85.3% of the total resident population declared themselves to be Orthodox.

European Commission. The new European Commission was approved by the European Parliament on Wednesday. The head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has stated that the first initiative of the Community Executive will be the “Competitiveness Compass”, a strategic plan to grow the European economy. Among the five executive vice-presidents of the Commission is the Romanian Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness.

December 1. Approximately 2,500 specialists and military personnel, 190 technical devices and 45 aircraft will participate in the traditional military parade in Bucharest, on December 1, the National Day of Romania. Along with the Romanian soldiers, approximately 240 foreign soldiers from Albania, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Croatia and France will march in the parade. They will be joined by colleagues from Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Great Britain, Spain, the USA and Turkey. At the same time, an exhibition of military equipment will be organized which can be visited after the end of the official ceremony. Romania’s National Day will be marked by military ceremonies in other large cities of the country, as well as in the theaters of operations where Romanian soldiers are deployed

Football. The Romanian football champion, FCSB, takes on this evening, in Bucharest, the Greek team Olympiakos Piraeus, in the fifth round of the Europa League. With three wins and one loss, FCSB is in 8th place. This season they will also meet Hoffenheim (December 12, away), Qarabag (January 23, away) and Manchester United (January 30, home). The first eight placed will qualify for the round of 16, while the teams ranked 9-24 will play a play-off to qualify for the round of 16. In another development, the Romanian men’s handball champion, Dinamo Bucharest, plays, this evening, away from home, with the Portuguese team Sporting Lisbon, a match from Group A of the Champions League. At the same time, on Friday, the Romanian women’s national handball team debuts, in the company of the Czech Republic, in Group B of the European Championship – EHF EURO 2024, which takes place, between November 28 and December 15, in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. Romania participated 14 times in the European Women’s Championship, obtaining only one medal, bronze, in 2010. (MI)