Supporters of Klaus Iohannis, the man who will be Romania’s next president, have been celebrating in Bucharest.
He won in a surprise victory against Prime Minister Victor Ponta. Social Democat Ponta had won in the first round of voting, and was ahead in opinion polls but on the day it was centre-right Iohannis who came out on top in the second round runoff.
“I think this victory means a consolidation of Romanian partnerships with the traditional partners, US, NATO, EU and will definitely bring more stability to this region,” Iohannis told reporters.
Ponta said he accepted the people’s decision but had no plans to resign as prime minister meaning the new president will face a hostile parliamentary majority against him.
“I would like to thank to all Romanians who voted, I would like to say that the people are always right. I called Mr. Iohannis and I congratulated him on the victory. I and my colleagues, as long as we are in public positions, will fulfil our duties for the country,” declared Ponta
There had been widespread anger at voting problems overseas which appears to have played against the prime minister.
Sunday’s turnout was the highest in any Romanian election since 1996.