The victory of the independent candidate for president, Calin Georgescu, in Romania in the first round has caused large protests in several Romanian cities. This is because Georgescu is accused of anti-European views and linked to extremist ideas. Protests were organized in Timisoara, Iasi, Sibiu, as well as in other cities, while the participants carried banners with anti-fascist, pro-European and anti-extremist messages, reports “Agerpres”.
In Timisoara, young people gathered in the main square, demanding that Romania stay on the “right, pro-European path”, with slogans such as “Wake up, Romania, now or never!” and “We want freedom, not fascism!”.
Many of them have called on young people to vote in the parliamentary elections on Sunday, December 1st, and then to vote in the second round of the presidential elections that will take place on December 8th. Protests continued in Iasi, where young people called for an “anti-fascist alert”, and students protested in Sibiu, pointing to the danger of a political turn in the east and expressing support for European values.
Protests were also held in Brasov and Constanta. Calin Georgescu and opposition leader Elena Lasconi advanced to the second round of the presidential election in Romania, according to the results of the first round held on Sunday, based on 99.9 percent of the votes counted. Georgescu, who was a complete surprise, won 22.95 percent of the vote and Lasconi 19.2 percent.