IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS
- Elections: Victor Ponta, favorite before the second round of the presidential elections.
- ELECTORAL DEBATES: Victor Ponta won the debates against Klaus Iohannis.
- ECONOMY. Romania continues the positive economic development.
- ELECTIONS. The Romanians in the Diaspora will vote on November 16 without any problems.
- POLITICAL STATEMENTS. Victor Ponta: i am absolutely convinced that i can be the president who unites the Romanians
Victor Ponta, favorite before the second round of the presidential elections
According to the latest CSCI survey, Prime Minister Victor Ponta is the favorite in the presidential race.
Asked who they would vote for out of the following candidates in the presidential elections on November 16, 54% of the respondents voted for Victor Ponta and 46% – Klaus Iohannis.
Regarding trust in politicians, Victor Ponta, with a score of 44%, ranks first, while the second place goes to Klaus Iohannis, with 38%, followed by Calin Popescu Tariceanu, with 36%. Traian Basescu occupies the fourth position in the ranking, with 19% confidence.
The survey was conducted from November 11 to 12, on a multistage cluster sample of 1500 persons, with probabilistic selection of individuals, validated on the basis of the INSSE 2011 data and the 2002 population census. The tolerated error is 2.5% at a 0.95 probability level, and questionnaires were applied by the CATI method.
A Sociopol poll, conducted between November 5 to 7, on a sample of 1,005 people, with a margin of error of 3.2% points, in turn, to Victor Ponta as the winner in the elections, with 55% of voter preferences.
The PSD-UNPR-PC Alliance candidate, Victor Ponta, would win with 54% the second round of the presidential elections, while his rival, Liberal Klaus Iohannis, would get 46%, according to a CURS Avangarde survey.
According to the research results, over 46% of those surveyed say that they are very interested in the second round of the presidential elections, 37% are interested, 11% less interested, while 6% say they are not interested at all in the voting on Sunday.
Furthermore, 57% of those surveyed say they will surely vote on November 16, 20% said they are likely to vote, 16% have not decided whether or not to vote, 3% say most likely they will not exercise their right to vote, while 4% would not vote for sure.
Victor Ponta won the debates against Klaus Iohannis
According to the latest CSCI survey, Prime Minister Victor Ponta is perceived as the winner of the election debate between the two candidates for the position of President of Romania. 70% of Romanians who watched the debate between Victor Ponta and Klaus Iohannis believe that the Prime Minister has dominated his rival. Only 30% believe that Iohannis held up to the dialogue.
In terms of perception of winning among the voters, Victor Ponta is seen as the debate winner by 90% of his voters, 55% of Romanians who vote for Klaus Iohannis and 65% of those undecided. In contrast, Iohannis is perceived as the winner by 10% of his opponent’s voters, 45% of his voters and 35% of those undecided.
In terms of perception of winning in the regions, Victor Ponta is seen as the winner by 77% of people in Moldova, 73% of the electorate in Muntenia and by 58% of the Romanians in Transylvania. ACL candidate, Klaus Iohannis, is perceived as the winner by 23% in Moldova, 27% in Muntenia and 42% votes from Transylvania.
In terms of perception of winning per ages, it is observed that Ponta is preferred, at the expense of Klaus Iohannis, of all ages. The study was conducted on a sample of 800 interviews with people who watched the debate on Realitatea TV, during its course. The tolerated error is 3.5% at a probability level of 0.95. The questionnaires were applied by the CATI method.
A percentage of 58% of the respondents who watched the election show on B1TV consider that Victor Ponta, PSD-UNPR-PC Alliance candidate, is the winner of the debate, while 42% of respondents say that the one who had dominated the discussions is Klaus Iohannis, the ACL candidate, final survey data of a CSCI spot show, released Wednesday, November 12, 2014.
The sample, which targeted the adult non-institutionalized population, included 650 interviews, nationally, conducted by the CATI method, with people who watched the debate on B1 TV, during its course. The tolerated error is 3.8%, at a 0.95 probability level. Victor Ponta dominated both in the first 30 minutes of the TV show, and after an hour, according to the survey data.
Romania continues the positive economic development
The National Statistics Institute issued the figures which show that Romania had a 1.9% economic growth in the third trimester of 2014, one of the largest levels in the EU.
Industrial production in September made a jump of 6.1% compared to the same month last year, on the unadjusted series, and of 4.9% in the adjusted series. The industry continues to be a key driver of the Romanian economy, demonstrating that incentives and supportive measures adopted by the Ponta Government maintain an upward trend.
Exports increased by 10.2% in September to a historic high of 4.9 bn. Euros, while the annual inflation rate reached 1.54% in September.
Government leaders have stressed that these are not simple statistical data, as Klaus Iohannis says, but are indicators of economic growth, and they are found in: the increase of pension, the increase of salaries for doctors and teachers, the increase of allowances for children from poor families. Thust, the consumption of the Romanians grew by 7.4% in the first nine months of 2014, compared to the same period of last year.
The European Commission recently canceled any discussion about whether or not there is growth, or whether or not there is recession. Romania has growth – the EC estimates for Romania a 1% increase in the third quarter of 2014, in comparison to the previous quarter, and of 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014. According to the EC, Romania will have in 2014 the 12th highest growth rate in the EU 28.
Governmental leaders showed that Romania is on the right track in terms of economic growth and consolidation. This road is intended to be interrupted by Iohannis and his men, who are followers of the austerity and cuts, whose negative results were observed during the PDL Governments, PSD spokesmen stressed.
The Romanians in the Diaspora will vote on November 16 without any problems!
Government officials stressed that the Government will continue to take all the necessary and legal measures in order to solve the problems encountered on November 2. They criticized that the ACL uses the Romanians in the Diaspora, and speculates the legitimate discontent.
According to Government representatives, currently, there is no legal basis for setting up new voting stations. The law is clear and a press release from the BEC, which interprets the law, but not a clear statement from the BEC, they have said. Even the BEC spokesman, Mr. Muhulet, said that the decision of the Bureau, the only one with a legal value is „interpretable”. Thus, it takes a clear decision from the BEC, and the BEC has not come so far with such a decision.
PSD leaders stressed that it is important to no longer politicize the topic of the vote in the Diaspora. They believe that if the ACL had been preoccupied with the fate of the Romanians in the Diaspora, then Iohannis would have gone to talk to them – Iohannis did not go at all in the Diaspora! Iohannis did not go to the Romanians in the Republic of Moldova, in Chernivtsi, in Italy and in Spain -the largest Romanian communities in all of the Diaspora. If Iohannis wanted to facilitate the voting process, he would have asked the BEC to come up with solutions in the current legal framework – ACL has not made any request to the BEC. Moreover, Iohannis’ ACL people summoned the Government to leave alone the BEC! The clear decision on the additional polling stations must come from the BEC alone, said the ACL leaders.
PSD spokesmen showed that the Government did everything logistically and legally possible, so that those in the Diaspora to exercise their vote in the best conditions:
- Doubling the number of booths and stamps;
- The form can be downloaded online and filled in in advance, following to be signed in the polling station; the form will be also distributed around the polling stations.
- Doubling the staff that ensures the smooth running of the voting process. In the first round, more than 100 ACL representatives were not present at the polling stations in the Diaspora to ensure the smooth running of the voting process!
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Melescanu, said he will vote in Paris – he will go there to ensure that there are no problems. Similarly, several state secretaries from the MFA will go Sunday where there were problems in the first round, so that everything to be conducted without any problems.
Victor Ponta: I am absolutely convinced that I can be the President who unites the Romanians
The PSD-UNPR-PC Alliance candidate, Prime Minister Victor Ponta, said during a televised debate that he is absolutely convinced that he can be the President who unites the Romanians, that Romania can be a better country, and that the USL can close the wounds made in the last 10 years and rebuild what has been damaged.
„Also in Resita, and in Babadag, in Carei and in Madrid, in Chisinev and in Chernivtsi, and in all cities and villages of this country, to those who voted for me in the first round with 95%, but also to those who voted for Mr. Iohannis or any other candidate I would like to say that after 10 years of division, Traian Basescu, Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, Romania has a great chance to go in the right direction. Firstly, we have to fix the injustices from 2010 to 2011. We gave back the pensions, the wages, we gave justice to the people, but we have to continue to keep this pace”, said Victor Ponta.
The PSD-UNPR-PC candidate added in his message to voters that „Romania needs dialogue and peace”.
„I do not want to see hatred and attacks on family, eventually on my opponent, as we have seen, unfortunately, very often from the staff… and as I have seen from Mr. Iohannis lately. I am absolutely convinced that I can be the President who unites the Romanians. I know what to do. I am 42, since I was 18 I work and study for this country and I want more and more something that I want for everyone who is watching me now. For my mother and my grandmother, who are pensioners here in Romania, I want them to live as much as God wants in a normal country, my children, who now live in Romania, to live in the next 10 and 20 years, to have a chance with all children in this country, to further live in Romania”, said Victor Ponta.
The PSD- UNPR-PC Alliance presidential candidate mentioned that he has great confidence in Romania and he is very proud to be Romanian. „I am absolutely convinced that we can be a better country and that the wounds made in these 10 years, by the people who were wrong and that will surely answer for what they have done, us in the USL, those you have trusted in 2012, we can close them and we can build everything damaged in those years”, said Victor Ponta.
The PSD-UNPR-PC Alliance candidate thanked those who have voted for him on November 2nd and thanked those who will trust him, through their vote on November 16. „I want to assure you that I will be a good President also for Mr. Iohannis and for those who voted with any other candidate, because this is what Romania needs”, Victor Ponta also said.
