InsideWOLD: Europe November 02, 2014 Romanians electing new president; PM favorite

insideworld
Nov 2, 2014
1 min read

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanians went to the polls Sunday to elect a new leader as President Traian Basescu steps down after 10 years, with the prime minister favored to win in the nation of 19 million.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta faces challengers including a city mayor and a prominent lawyer. If no candidate secures an absolute majority in the vote, there will be a runoff on Nov. 16. "I think starting this winter we'll have a truly democratic country. A European country," Ponta said after voting.

"After 10 years of war and destruction" it is time for reconstruction, he said referring to his bitter rivalries with the outgoing president Basescu who steps down in December. Basescu — known for his outspoken and often critical comments about politicians and Romania's legal system — also acknowledged Romania needed a different style of president.

"We need a president who will consolidate the rule of the law," he said. The president is in charge of defense and foreign policy and names the chiefs of the country's two main intelligence agencies, as well as top prosecutors and ambassadors.

The 42-year-old Ponta is an ex-prosecutor whose popularity appears not to have been badly damaged by corruption probes of senior members of his Social Democratic Party. He has pledged lower taxes, higher pensions, and to uphold good relations with both the European Union and China.