Ukraine wannabes
The week's news at a glance.
Bucharest, Romania
The Romanian centrist opposition claimed fraud in this week’s parliamentary elections and demanded a new vote. The ruling ex–Communist Party took the most seats in the parliament, although it failed to get an outright majority and will have to form a coalition with other parties in order to govern. “We have no doubt this is fraud,” said Traian Basescu, head of the centrist Justice and Truth alliance. “I am asking for international help to restore democracy in Romania.” But international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the group that condemned Ukraine’s recent election as fraudulent, said the Romanian election seemed reasonably fair.
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