Radovan Karadzic, Sarajevo is not your city, and you have no right to say that it is, just as you do not have the right to say in public, even if it’s in court, that someone has dug up bones around Bosnia and brought them to Srebrenica to make a fake graveyard. This is insulting.
Basescu in Narrow Lead in Romania Elections
Bucharest | 07 December 2009 |
Traian Basescu
Preliminary official results indicate a narrow victory for incumbent Traian Basescu in Sunday's presidential run-off.
With 99.13 per cent of the vote counted, election authorities said Basescu polled 50.37 per cent, while challenger Mircea Geoana received 49.63 per cent. Voter turnout was 57.94 per cent.
Earlier exit polls indicated a narrow victory for Geoana.
On Sunday evening, both candidates claimed victory. "I assure you that now, just like in 2004, you can trust my words: I've won!" Basescu told his supporters.
He asked his supporters to be patient until all the votes have been counted and assured them, that the final results will not be ‘manipulated like the exit polls’, because the Central Electoral Bureau "is a team of people who must put out a correct result."
Sibiu’s mayor Klaus Johannis, who would have been the country’s new prime minister had Geoana won, on Monday morning appeared to concede defeat. He said he will not lead a government if Basescu wins another term.
Basescu now returns to his position facing the enormous challenges of an extremely fractious parliament, and convincing the International Monetary Fund, IMF, to disburse further tranches of a 20 billion euro loan.
His first task will be to nominate a new prime minister. A caretaker government headed by Emil Boc has been running the country since October. On two separate occasions since October Basescu has nominated new prime ministers, but neither has succeeded in winning over the support of parliament.
A new government is key to the continuation of the IMF-led rescue package the country needs to restore economic stability. Several weeks ago the IMF said it will postpone the disbursement of the second and third tranche worth 13 billion euro pending the formation of a new government.
The IMF is demanding that the 2010 budget, which a new government has yet to draft, reduces the deficit to below six per cent of GDP. The Fund is also asking for the passage of a fiscal responsibility law by the end of year.
