Romanian election authorities say President Klaus Iohannis will face Viorica Dancila, the recently ousted former prime minister, in the Nov. 24 presidential runoff.
The Permanent Electoral Authority said Monday that the center-right Iohannis got 36.9% of the valid votes, while Dancila received 23.4%. A runoff is needed because no one got more than 50% of the votes in Sunday's first round.
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Romanian election authorities say President Klaus Iohannis will face Viorica Dancila, the recently ousted former prime minister, in the Nov. 24 presidential runoff.
The election has been overshadowed by Romania's political crisis, which recently saw a fourth prime minister take office in less than three years.
Dan Barna, the presidential candidate of the USR-PLUS alliance, grimaces after coming in third in Romania's presidential elections, according to exit polls, in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Former Romanian Premier Viorica Dancila will face incumbent President Klaus Iohannis in an election runoff on Nov. 24. (AP PhotoVadim Ghirda)
Baby Sonia grabs her mother's earring at a polling station in Sintesti, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Romania held a presidential election Sunday after a lackluster campaign that has been overshadowed by the country's political crisis, which saw a minority government installed just a few days ago. (AP PhotoVadim Ghirda)
A woman casts her vote in Sintesti, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Romania held a presidential election Sunday after a lackluster campaign that has been overshadowed by the country's political crisis, which saw a minority government installed just a few days ago. (AP PhotoAndreea Alexandru)
Dan Barna, of the Save Our Romania party, was third with 14.2% support.
Former Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila smiles during a statement after exit polls indicate her as the runner up of the presidential race, with up to 25 percent of the votes in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Dancila will face incumbent President Klaus Iohannis in an election runoff on Nov. 24. (AP PhotoAlexandru Dobre)
The election has been overshadowed by Romania's political crisis, which recently saw a fourth prime minister take office in less than three years.
Dancila's Social Democratic government lost a no-confidence vote in October and was replaced last week by a minority government led by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban's National Liberal Party.
Former Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila smiles before a statement after exit polls indicate her as the runner up of the presidential race, with up to 25 percent of the votes in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Dancila will face incumbent President Klaus Iohannis, seen on the the left on screen, in an election runoff on Nov. 24. (AP PhotoAlexandru Dobre)
Dan Barna, the presidential candidate of the USR-PLUS alliance, grimaces after coming in third in Romania's presidential elections, according to exit polls, in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Former Romanian Premier Viorica Dancila will face incumbent President Klaus Iohannis in an election runoff on Nov. 24. (AP PhotoVadim Ghirda)
Baby Sonia grabs her mother's earring at a polling station in Sintesti, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Romania held a presidential election Sunday after a lackluster campaign that has been overshadowed by the country's political crisis, which saw a minority government installed just a few days ago. (AP PhotoVadim Ghirda)
A woman casts her vote in Sintesti, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Romania held a presidential election Sunday after a lackluster campaign that has been overshadowed by the country's political crisis, which saw a minority government installed just a few days ago. (AP PhotoAndreea Alexandru)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.
Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.
“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”
“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.
The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.
Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.
Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.
The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.
Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.
In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.
Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.
Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
