Romanian Premier-Backed Candidate Wins Mayoral Race in Bucharest

The candidate of Romania’s Liberal party won the mayoral race for Bucharest, strengthening the position of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan inside the ruling coalition as he pushes through a package of austerity measures to trim the European Union’s widest budget deficit.

Ciprian Ciucu, 47, a two-terms mayor of the 6th district in Bucharest, won about 36% of the votes to take the leadership of the Romanian capital, which generates about a quarter of the country’s economic output.