December 7, 2020 UPDATE

Elections – The Social Democratic Party – PSD has won Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Romania with 30.16% of the votes for the Senate and 29.71% for the Chamber of Deputies, followed by the National Liberal Party – PNL with 25.62% votes for the Senate and 25.21% for the Chamber of Deputies, the Central Electoral Bureau announced on Monday, after centralizing results from 95.25% of the polling stations. 3rd placed is the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance – USR-PLUS with 15.21% of the votes for the Senate and 14.73% for the Chamber of Deputies. The Alliance for Romanians’ Union got 8.69% votes for the Senate and 8.6% for the Chamber of Deputies while the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania UDMR got 6.21% votes for the Senate and 6.05% for the Chamber of Deputies. There is no outright winner of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, and the centre-right parties total 50% of the votes cast, President Klaus Iohannis stated on Monday. He announced that in the coming days he would call the parliamentary parties for consultations. In another move, the Liberal PM Ludovic Orban has resigned. Romanians in the Diaspora voted over the course of two days, on Saturday and Sunday, the highest voter turnout being reported in Italy, Moldova, Spain, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Germany and France. The new Parliament will have 465 MPs – 136 Senators and 329 Deputies. Sundays voter turnout stood at 27% of the total number of voters registered on permanent electoral lists, the lowest in the last 30 years.

Newsroom, 07.12.2020, 20:00

COVID-19 Ro – Another 3,660 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 and 127 related deaths were reported in last 24 hours, the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Monday. The total number of infections has thus climbed to 517 thousand, while the death toll stands at 12,447. 1,280 people are currently in intensive care. 80% of people infected with COVID-19 have recovered. Several towns and villages in Romania are still in quarantine. In Sibiu County, where the infection rate is 5 per thousand inhabitants, authorities have decided to extend the quarantine for another week in Sibiu and 6 villages.

Moldova – Thousands protested on Sunday in the Moldovan capital-city Chişinău, calling for the dissolution of Parliament, at present controlled by a pro-Russian majority. The Moldovan Parliament recently voted for limiting the presidents prerogatives and strengthening the status of the Russian language. The rally was staged following a public appeal launched by the pro-European President elect, Maia Sandu. Sandus call was answered by the leaders of the opposition parties and also of the non-parliamentary political parties. Protesters accused Parliament and the Government of promoting corruption and of the misappropriation of public funds, also calling for snap elections. Maia Sandu said Sundays protest was not advocating any ideology or political party, but was simply aimed at voicing the will of the people, who grew tired of corruption and want a better life. The acting president, Igor Dodon, as well as members of the Socialist Party in Parliament, have refused to comment on the allegations.

Brexit – Representatives of Great Britain and the European Union continue negotiations in Brussels with a view to reaching consensus on a post-Brexit agreement, the absence of which would have serious economic consequences for both sides. On Sunday evening, the chief negotiators conveyed diverging messages on how talks are progressing. EU officials said they are close to solving one the major obstacles, related to the fishing rights agreement, whereas the British side dismissed the information. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to make an assessment on Monday night on the progress reported so far in striking a trade agreement, which both the British and the European Parliament must ratify before taking effect on January 1, 2021. Londons future relation with Brussels is also expected to rank high on the agenda of the summit in Brussels, to be held on Thursday and Friday. The UK is still subject to EU legislation following its official withdrawal on January 31, 2020. (Tr. V. Palcu, L. Simion)