President of opposition party USR resigns after weak score in Romania’s presidential race

Elena Lasconi, the president of the Save Romania Union (USR), has resigned from the party’s helm after the weak score she received in the first round of the presidential elections.

Lasconi, who lost her own party’s support for her presidential bid a month before the elections, gathered some 2.68% of the votes. In the November 2024 presidential round, she won 19.17% of the votes and was headed for a second round against pro-Russia Călin Georgescu when the Constitutional Court decided to annul the elections amid concerns over foreign interference in the process.

“The time has come for a difficult decision. I am resigning from the position of USR president. I think this is what is correct, natural, and good at this time. I am resigning knowing that, in the last year, I have done everything in my power to make Romania better,” Lasconi wrote in a social media post.

Timișoara mayor Dominic Fritz is to take over as interim president of USR.

The party’s Political Committee will meet today to validate its support for Nicușor Dan in the second round of the presidential elections.

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(Photo: Adriana Neagoe/ Inquam Photos)