Junior ruling party in Romania opts to defer presidential elections

The National Liberal Party (PNL), the junior partner in Romania's ruling coalition dominated by Social Democrats (PSD), is opting for deferring the presidential elections to November, two months later than previously agreed among the two parties in the spring.

Liberal leader Nicolae Ciuca confirmed this decision after the party leadership met on July 1, Hotnews.ro reported.

The Social Democrats accused the Liberals of breaking the agreement on the September presidential elections.

Ciuca argued that the Liberals' decision was based on discussions with "hundreds of thousands of people" who would have asked them "to take into account the relevance of the position of president and the need for debate."

He also said he doesn't expect the disagreement with the Social Democrats to result in the collapse of the ruling coalition.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Sabin Cirstoveanu)