Transylvanian Hungarians are increasingly refusing to be used as a voting mass for the not entirely transparent political goals of the RMDSZ. Continue reading
The Hungarian Alliance of Transylvania (EMSZ) is calling on its supporters to back independent candidate Nicușor Dan in the second round of the Romanian presidential elections on May 18, the party said in a statement on Monday.
“In the first round of the repeat presidential elections in Romania, which took place on Sunday, the country’s citizens sent a clear message: enough of the people of the past – change is needed,” said the national executive committee of the smaller Transylvanian Hungarian party, which is in opposition to the ruling Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ). The RMDSZ is a member of the European People’s Party and has at least tacitly accepted the annulment of the December 2024 elections, which is based on shaky legal grounds.
“The current governing coalition – PSD-PNL-RMDSZ – has suffered a historic defeat. Their joint candidate – Crin Antonescu – received only 20% of the vote,” it said. The opposition party said this was proof that 80% of citizens believe that „the three and a half decades of a system based on political privileges, corruption, and incompetence must come to an end.
While more than four-fifths of Romanian voters opted for opposition candidates, the Hungarian community protested by staying away from the polls.”
The EMSZ noted the lower turnout in counties with significant Hungarian populations and emphasized that “despite the enormous amount of public money spent on the election campaign,” about one-third of Hungarian voters did not support the ruling party candidates.
The EMSZ on the other hand, described it as “remarkable” that Nicușor Dan, who made it to the second round of the elections, “has tens of thousands of Hungarian supporters,” but also considered it a “warning sign” that “almost 10% of Hungarian voters cast their ballots for George Simion—a politician who is openly hostile to Hungary and the system.”
The party recalled that even before the first round, it had called for support for Nicușor Dan, “the only pro-Western candidate who is committed to democracy and respects local communities and the principle of self-government.”
In the second round of the presidential elections, we will decide whether to vote for a future based on work, performance, and experience in public administration,
or whether we allow empty, unfulfilled promises, political squabbling, and extreme nationalism to prevail. We call on the members of our community to do everything in their power over the next two weeks to ensure Dan’s victory,” the EMSZ statement concluded.
According to the mayor of Bucharest, Romanian society today must choose between two opposing directions. He said that a Western orientation stands in opposition to an anti-Western orientation, economic freedom stands in opposition to isolation, and a culture of dialogue stands in opposition to hatred. Dan believes it is important that a meaningful social debate about the path to be taken should be held during the election campaign. Yesterday, he called on politicians to withdraw from public life to allow for a social debate on the direction the country should take.
Via MTI, Featured photo: MTI/Veres Nándor