Romania’s Hungarian minority, which include many Reformed Christians and Catholics, also secured seats in the European Parliament. Election officials said opposition parties received the most votes in the elections for Romania’s 35 representatives in the European Parliament
Nearly one-in-three voters cast ballots Sunday, November 26, for the Democratic Party of President Traian Basescu, while its fellow opposition Social Democratic Party came in second with about 20 percent of the vote.
They beat the ruling National Liberal Party of Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, the results showed. He has been criticized by Romanians for his perceived failure to implement reforms aimed at improving living standards, that were promised when the country enthusiastically joined the European Union, January 1st.
CUT-OFF AID
The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, has threatened to cut-off more than 260-million dollars in aid to Romania next month, unless the government improves the way it handles agriculture subsidies and tackles corruption.
The leader of the victorious Democrats, Emil Boc, suggested the election results show his party is popular among voters seeking change. "The Democratic Party has received most votes," he told supporters. He said the party is now "the most important political force in Romania."
Among others securing seats in the European Parliament was an independent candidate, Reformed Bishop Laszlo Tokes, who played a key role in Romania’s 1989 revolution against Communist rule, when he was persecuted for his faith and pro-democracy activities.
He plans to represent the one-and-one-half-million ethnic-Hungarians living in Romania.
COOPERATION PLANNED
Bishop Tokes said he wants to cooperate in the European Parliament with the main political party of ethnic Hungarians, known as the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, or RMDSZ.
"We are focused on the national interests of Hungarians in Romania, " Tokes said, after the first results were announced. “Next week I will meet the Hungarian RMDSZ party, to work on a wide strategy to make the dreams of ethnic Hungarians a reality."
High on his wish list is improving educational opportunities and a more controversial demand for more autonomy for ethnic Hungarians. They mostly live in Transylvania, an area that belonged to Hungary till the 1920 Treaty of Trianon handed the region to Romania. Government and opposition officials in neighboring Hungary said Monday, November 26, they are pleased that ethnic Hungarians will be represented in the European Parliament. (This BosNewsLife News story also airs on the Voice of America (VOA) network. www.voanews.com ).
