Elections in Romania

Romania's government survives no-confidence vote

Romania's government has survived a no-confidence vote in parliament, avoiding further political turmoil in the country, Reuters reports.

144 MPs voted in favor of a no-confidence vote, but 233 votes are needed to bring down the government. The vote was initiated by a right-wing coalition that accuses the government of corruption.

The political situation in the country has been extremely turbulent in recent months. The background is, among other things, that former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu has been accused of committing crimes during the election campaign.

He is suspected of "data-related crimes" in connection with the campaign for last year's election. The Constitutional Court canceled the election with two days' notice after suspicions of Russian interference and election fraud in favor of the pro-Russian far-right candidate.

Mercenary arrested with weapons in Romanian election turmoil

A former soldier in the French Foreign Legion and 20 others have been arrested on suspicion of crimes against national security in connection with the canceled presidential election in Romania, Reuters reports. All have connections to the accused far-right candidate Calin Georgescu.

Weapons such as grenade launchers and large sums of cash have been found during a search of the home of Horatiu Potra, who fought in Congo-Kinshasa as a mercenary and also ran for mayor in Romania.

- I admit to illegal possession of weapons. Rather than die legally, I live illegally, Potra says on Romanian TV according to Reuters, and then explains that he wants to be prepared if Romania's current government "draws the country into war with Russia."

Former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu is facing multiple charges related to the canceled December election, making it unclear whether he will be allowed to run in the new election on May 4.