The residents of a Romanian village knowingly voted in a dead man as their mayor in Sunday's municipal election, preferring him to his living opponent.
Neculai Ivascu, 57, who ran the village for almost two decades, died from liver disease just after voting began -- but still won the election by a margin of 23 votes.
A local official said the authorities decided to keep the poll open in case Ivascu's opponent, Gheorghe Dobrescu, won, avoiding the need for a re-run. But he did not win. In his concession speech, Dobrescu stated, "The people have spoken. I will support that rotting corpse over there to ensure the integrity of democracy."
"I know he died, but I don't want change," a pro-Ivascu villager told Romanian television. "I believe democracy has spoken."
In the end, election authorities gave the post to the runner-up, but some villagers and Ivascu's party, the powerful opposition Social Democrat Party (PSD), have called for a new vote. Party officials believe he should have won by an even wider margin. "At least 30 votes," declared one party official."
The Yeetle Box
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