Romanian FM Resigns over Flaws in Expats' Presidential Vote

omania`s newly appointed Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu makes a statement shortly after casting his ballot in the presidential elections run-off, at a polling station in Bucharest, Romania, 16 November 2014. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Teodor Melescanu, who recently became the Foreign Ministry of Romania, has stepped down due to the poor organization of Sunday's presidential elections abroad.

Melescanu took over from Titus Corlatean, who resigned last week after coming under heavy fire failing to safeguard Romanian expats' right to vote in the first round of presidential elections held November 2. Mass protests led Melescanu to submit his resignation.

In the same fashion, long queues had formed in front of many embassies during the run-off vote for head of state won by Klaus Iohannis, with slow voting procedure preventing many Romanians living abroad to cast a ballot.

Many polling stations closed while there were still people lining up outside, and in some cities like Paris Romanians staged a demonstration to vent their anger.

Prior to assuming the office of Foreign Minister, Melescanu had been the Director of Romania's Foreign Intelligence Service for two years.

He left the post on September 22 to run for President as an independent candidate, but garnered just over one percent of support at the first round.

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