Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta says he won’t resign as long as he has Governing coalition’s support

Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who lost the presidential elections to Sibiu’s mayor Klaus Iohannis, on Sunday, November 16, said he won’t resign from his position as head of Romania’s Government and that he is determined to cooperate with the new president-elect. “Romania needs stability and predictability,” Ponta said in his first public appearance after losing the elections, on Monday. “As long as I have the support of the coalition, I’m determined to remain Prime Minister,” he added. He congratulated president-elect Klaus Iohannis, saying that he is a legitimate president and that he will probably do his best to change things for the better in Romania. “I express my wish for dialog with Romania’s new legitimate president,” Ponta said. He also mentioned that Romania needs a new law for the voting process abroad and that the Parliament will vote on Tuesday against the amnesty law. The poor organization of the voting abroad and the new law project initiated by a couple of senators and deputies for the pardoning of the politicians investigated or condemned for influence peddling and similar corruption related crimes, were the main issues raised by Klaus Iohannis in his presidential campaign and during his direct televised debates with Ponta. Iohannis asked firmly for the amnesty law to be rejected by the Parliament. He also said that the Parliament should raise the political immunity of deputies and senators who are investigated for corruption in order to let prosecutors continue their cases. Victor Ponta’s Cabinet is currently supported by a coalition made of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Union for Romania’s Progress (UNPR), the Conservative Party (PC), the Magyar Democratic Union (UDMR) and the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR), which is led by former Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu. The coalition holds the majority in both chambers of the Romanian Parliament. However, some members of Victor Ponta’s own party have already said that the party should withdraw from the Government. editor@romania-insider.com