The General Council will determine whether or not the park on Metalurgiei will bear the name “Donald J. Trump”

Donald Trump will have a park named after him in the south of the Romanian Capital, but only if it is approved by the General Council of the Capital. Local councilors from Sector 4 decided that the extension of the Tudor Arghezi park, on Metalurgiei bd., should be named “Donald Trump Romanian-American Friendship Park”, and the ice rink in Berceni, the name of hockey player Doru Tureanu, according to draft decisions adopted on Tuesday by the local elected officials. The General Council of the capital can approve or reject the proposal from Sector 4.

“The naming of the new green space being set up next to Tudor Arghezi Park represents a symbolic gesture of respect and reaffirmation of the Sector 4 community's openness to dialogue, cooperation and the strengthening of transatlantic relations, in an international context in which the Romanian-American strategic partnership continues to constitute an essential pillar of security, development and regional stability, all the more so since, this year, the United States of America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the declaration of Independence”. motivates the City Hall of Sector 4.

The extension of the Tudor Arghezi park, from bld. Metalurgiei, will bear the name of Donald J Trump, as originally proposed by the mayor Daniel Băluță, and the rink in Berceni will bear the name of Doru Tureanu, one of the greatest hockey players in the history of Romanian hockey.

The two names were chosen following a popular vote, claims the mayor's office of Sector 4, which established the platform where the general public could vote for a week. The name was proposed by the mayor Daniel Băluță.

For the expansion of Tudor Arghezi Park, voters could choose between: Francois Mitterrand, Helmut Kohl, Vaclav Havel, Jacques Chirac, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, Maia Sandu.

For the Berceni Rink, the proposed names were: Ivan Patzaichin, Doru Tureanu, Ion Panțuru, Mihaela Peneș, Mircea Lucescu, Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu, Dan Grecu, Argentina Menis, Vasile Dîba.

Over 28,000 people voted for the park to be named after Donald J Trump, and over 21,600 people voted for the ice rink to be named after Doru Tureanu.

Allegations that the vote was rigged

However, the voting process caused controversy, in the public space there were several accusations that the vote was flawed, after, in the first 4 days, Maia Sandu and Mircea Lucescu were in the top of the preferences, and on the night before the closing of the vote, on Saturday and Sunday, 40,000 people voted and Donald Trump and Doru Tureanu emerged as winners.

Paul Ene, local councilor from the USR, in the Local Council District 4, accuses that the mayor Băluță stole from vo.

“Man can't stop stealing even when it comes to an online vote. Băluță was upset that the world was making fun of him because he was putting himself in front of the MAGA administration and launched a facade consultation, to show that we are haters, and the world, in reality, is fed up with having a little Donald Trump in front of Selgros Metalurgia. He was very surprised when he saw, after the first day of voting, that people really do not agree with his proposal. So he did what any pesedist does best. He stole votes” wrote Paul Ene on the Facebook page.

40,000 votes in just one night

Although by Saturday evening approximately 30 thousand votes were registered, by Sunday morning there were already 70 thousand. I'm sure that, on Saturday night, people couldn't have a peaceful time without Băluță's strip of park bearing Trump's name”, explained Paul Ene.

He says the platform was not secure and the vote could easily be rigged.

“The voting platform is a joke in itself, as is its security. Most of the web filtering systems did not allow accessing it, and in the first five days of voting you could vote with addresses that did not even exist. Even more people reported that they could not vote, because the system told them that address had already voted”, explained Paul Ene.
The voting platform was launched on May 19, after Mayor Daniel Băluță's proposal to name the park “Donald J Trump” sparked numerous controversies.

How the voting platform was born

“We decide, together, what name both the extension of Tudor Arghezi Park and the Berceni Arena ice rink will receive. Starting tomorrow morning, we will have an online platform where we can vote, and in the end, the decision we will implement will be the one that the whole community will choose. I will come back as soon as possible with the name of the platform and the time when it will be available”, announced the mayor Daniel Băluță on the Facebook page, on May 18.

The mayor says he made this decision after seeing the controversy the original proposal sparked.

“A few days ago we proposed that the extension of Tudor Arghezi Park be called Donald Trump Park. Some of you embraced this idea, others were extremely nervous on this topic. That's why we decided to immediately make a platform on which to vote.

And the decision should not belong to me, but to you. Let's do as you think is best. Because no, our goal and mine and yours is that things turn out perfectly”, said Băluță.

In honor of 250 years of US independence

At the beginning of April, the mayor announced that the new park set up near Tudor Arghezi Park will be named “Donald J. Trump” in honor of the American president and Romania's ties with the USA.

“Our community, of Sector 4, can become part of a global story of friendship and respect between nations. This year, when the United States will celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the moment that marked the birth of the American nation, we too will be able to mark this in a special way”, Băluță wrote at the time on his Facebook account.

He stated that, to mark this celebration, the new park, which is set up next to the Tudor Arghezi Park, “will bear the name of the current president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, as a symbol of the friendship and common values ​​that unite us.”

When will the new park be ready?

Last autumn, the City Hall of Sector 4 started the expansion works of Tudor Arghezi Park, on bld. Metalurgiei, with another 4 ha.

“Of the total area of ​​40,000 square meters that will be added to the park, three-quarters will be only green space, with over 1,000 trees, shrubs, flowers and planted strips, and the rest will house playgrounds for the younger children of Sector 4 (over 6,000 square meters), pedestrian walkways and infrastructure necessary for public lighting”, the City Hall of Sector 4 announced at the time.

Work on Donald J Trump Park is expected to be completed this year.