REPORT. How the new entrant in big politics from Bucharest experienced the result of the elections: “We will continue, and our struggle will have a result. We don't want dinosaurs in politics anymore”
The candidate of the SENS party, Ana Ciceala, upon learning the results of the exit poll for the elections for the Capital City Hall, in Cismigiu Park. Inquam Photos / Tudor Pana
Hugging under the cold rain, at the entrance to Cișmigiu park across the street from the City Hall, smiling and confident and chanting “Ana Ciceăla la Capitală”. This is how the exit poll results found the SENS candidate and her supporters. In the same place, Nicușor Dan used to celebrate his local victories and not far from Cișmigiu, in May he also enjoyed his presidential victory.
Ranked, according to the first results of the exit polls, in fifth place and rated with 6% of the votes, Ana Ciceală spoke, on Sunday evening, less about the score itself and more about “energy and hope”. The opinion polls before the vote showed that Ciceăla, who last year also tried for the City Hall of Sector 3, is the candidate with the most support among young people.
She was also surrounded by young people on Sunday evening, in the street. Ciceăla spoke about the hundreds of volunteers who were with him and “talked to people in the last 5 months on the street, not on social networks: in parks, in squares, at subway entrances.”
Ana Ciceală makes statements after the display of the exit poll results in Cișmigiu Park. Inquam Photos / Pană Tudor
At the end of a campaign in which she says that people “got over the hatred, sometimes over the hate”, Ana Ciceală states that she found “hope, something positive. A vote for the future, to renew trust. We feel a lot of energy, hope and trust from the young people with whom I worked in this campaign. They also gave me back my trust that a change is possible.”
And for Florina Presada, vice-president of the SENS party, “every vote for Ciceăla is a victory”.
Presada believes that Ciceăla's votes are “the only ones about hope, not for the smallest evil”.
“People who represent us, not dinosaurs”
Asked by journalists if she also has a message for the winner of the elections, Ana Ciceală dodged: “Let's see first who will be the winner.” This despite the results of the exit polls showing the liberal Ciprian Ciucu as the clear winner.
Regarding the possibility of initiating discussions or collaborations with other parties in the future, the SENS candidate says that “we want to have in politics people who represent us all, not some dinosaurs”.
“Romanians did not come to vote in large numbers today because they are fed up with politicians and parties that do old-style politics,” added the SENS candidate.
Ana Ciceală ended the evening with promises: “Regardless of the result (in today's elections – ed.) we will continue. We fight to change something for young people, and our fight will have a result.”
Gossip, almost 6% of the votes
Ciceăla was credited on Sunday evening, with a little more than 5% of the votes of Bucharest citizens, after the counting of over 95% of the votes. During the campaign, the USR candidate, Cătălin Drula, invited her to withdraw in his favor, but Sunday's results show that even with Ciceăla's votes, Drula would not have won the Capital City Hall and would not have taken 2nd place either.
