The Minister of the Economy, about the low turnout since the elections in Bucharest: “It should worry any responsible politician” / What he said about the USR score

USR Minister of Economy, Radu Miruță, congratulated the liberal Ciprian Ciucu for his victory in the elections for the Capital City Hall and wished him “power to work in the face of the challenges that will come in the coming days”.

The official said he was “trying another thought” related to the low turnout at the polls.

“We have a lot of work to do! Who? We who have assumed that we are pro-European politicians. A voter turnout of only 30% in Bucharest, in local elections, even partial ones, should worry any responsible politician! I hope that alongside the Bolojan government, alongside President Nicușor Dan, Mr. Ciucu will not shy away from the complicated battles for the right result,” wrote Radu Miruță, on Sunday evening, in a Facebook post.

“We fail to convey enough trust to the citizens”

Attendance at Sunday's elections in the capital was 32.71%. In the last three decades, it is the second time that the attendance of 33% is not reached. But in the first case, in 2008, when the turnout in the first round was lower than today, 31.36%, there was also the second round, where 33.7% was reached. Never after 1989 has a mayor in Bucharest been elected following a round with such a low turnout.

“I'm not from Bucharest, but I'm an engineer by profession and I can't help but look at the numbers. And the turnout in Bucharest shows me that we, the politicians, regardless of the party we belong to, fail to convey enough trust to the citizens to make them express their democratic right – the vote”, added Radu Miruță.

He said he knows that the “not at all popular” measures taken by the Bolojan government to balance the national budget are “combined with dissatisfaction, justified, but we can only get through this complicated period together and properly informed.”

“Mr. President Nicușor Dan has shown us that he does not shy away from uncomfortable truths if they are told for the good of all of us. Yes, I know, Romanian politics is a source of permanent anger and frustration for many of the citizens of this country, but I trust that we, the pro-European political parties, will manage to find the resources to move forward properly. The result of today's vote shows it,” continued the USR Minister of Economy.

What he said about the USR candidate's score

The USR candidate for the position of general mayor, Cătălin Drula, has a score of 13.87% after counting 90% of the votes, being only in the 4th position.

“With good reason I will be asked about the score obtained by USR. I have two simple things to say: 1. Cătălin Drula is a man of good faith and I have every conviction that his proposal for Bucharest was honest. 2 The result makes us responsible to analyze ourselves internally more than we have done so far”, concluded USR Minister of Economy, Radu Miruță.