Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
Inside WORLD : Thousands protest Romania voting difficulties
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Thousands of people have protested against the Romanian government a week before a presidential runoff, saying it has been making it difficult for citizens abroad to vote.
Romanians in Paris, London, Vienna and elsewhere have said they were unable to vote in the Nov. 2 first round of the presidential race because of long lines. In response, the government said Friday it would open more polling booths, and other measures to speed up the process, but protesters said it wasn't enough. On Sunday, the foreign ministry said it would dispatch some 800 officials from Bucharest and embassies and consular offices abroad to help Romanians there vote in the Nov. 16 runoff.
The announcement came after about 5,000 people gathered in the city Cluj in northwestern Romania late Saturday, and hundreds turned out in Bucharest, Constanta and other cities shouting "Get out and vote!"
On Sunday a few hundred gathered in Bucharest and elsewhere to protest for a second day. They yelled "Klaus, Klaus, help us get rid of Mickey Mouse!" the nickname for Prime Minister Victor Ponta. Ponta faces Sibiu Mayor Klaus Iohannis in next Sunday's runoff, which Ponta is favored to win.
Around 2 million Romanians live abroad.
.Photo: APA woman wearing a T-shirt which reads: "I want a country like outside", attends a rally with others in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014. About 500 people took to the street in support of their fellow citizens, living abroad, who couldn't vote for the first round of the presidential elections and blamed Romanian Prime Minister and presidential candidate of the ruling Social Democracy Party (PSD), Victor Ponta, local report said. An election runoff will be held on Nov. 16., to elect a new leader as President Traian Basescu steps down after 10 years in office
Photo: APA man holds the Romanian flag and shouts slogans next to a gendarme negotiator during a rally in support of fellow citizens living abroad, in Bucharest, Romania
Photo: APA man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask joins a rally with others in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014. About 500 people took to the street in support of their fellow citizens, living abroad, who couldn't vote for the first round of the presidential elections and blamed Romanian Prime Minister and presidential candidate of the ruling Social Democracy Party (PSD), Victor Ponta, local report said. An election runoff will be held on Nov. 16., to elect a new leader as President Traian Basescu steps down after 10 years in office.
