Global Briefs: Election tensions roil Romania

Romania

Hundreds of protesters, some throwing rocks at riot police, demonstrated in Bucharest on March 9 after the country’s election bureau refused to permit right-wing politician Călin Georgescu to again run for president in May. Thousands of Romanians have protested in the streets since police detained Georgescu for questioning on Feb. 26 over what supporters say are politically motivated charges of falsifying statements, acting against constitutional order, and founding fascist and anti-­Semitic organizations. In November, Georgescu won the first round of presidential elections, but the Romanian Constitutional Court canceled the contest before the final round of voting due to intelligence reports suggesting Russia had influenced 25,000 TikTok accounts supporting Georgescu. Georgescu, 62, has compared the present environment to the “communist mentality of the 1950s.” —Evangeline Schmitt

Spain

A landmark case is testing the country’s euthanasia law, pitting a paraplegic young woman against her father. On March 4, Noelia, 24, asked a Catalonian court to allow her to kill herself despite her family’s objections. After a failed suicide attempt in 2022 permanently damaged her spinal cord, Noelia became eligible for euthanasia because of her ongoing physical and psychological suffering. A committee granted her petition for assisted suicide last July, and her death was planned for Aug. 2, 2024. But her father temporarily halted the procedure by filing a legal objection saying Noelia’s mental health was too unstable to make the decision. Still, Noelia told the court her mind is set and she desires to die. The legal group Christian Lawyers, representing her father, said it is willing to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Spain. —Elisa Palumbo

Fact Box Source: The World Factbook-CIA

Argentina

President Javier Milei hailed the success of his economic reforms in a State of the Nation speech March 1 following the opening session of the 143rd Argentine National Congress. Political tensions were rampant during the ceremony, with dozens of opposition legislators absent. Milei boasted “the beginning of a new golden age” after slashing the country’s annual inflation rate to 85% in January, down from 211% in 2023. The libertarian leader, who was elected in 2023, also raised the possibility of withdrawing from Southern Common Market (Mercosur) if Argentina reaches a free trade agreement with the U.S. A March 6 executive order will also bypass the National Congress to secure a loan of over $10 billion from the International Monetary Fund to further cancel federal debt. Argentina is the largest debtor-state to the IMF. —Carlos Páez

Fact Box Source: The World Factbook-CIA

Prince Hisahito Imperial Household Agency via AP

Japan

Prince Hisahito, 18, has become the island nation’s first male royal to reach adulthood in nearly four decades. Hisahito held his debut press conference on March 3 at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, where he pledged to fulfill his royal duties. He is second in line to the throne after his father Crown Prince Akishino, Emperor Naruhito’s younger brother. Hisahito is the youngest of the 16 current members of the imperial family. The royals do not exercise political power in Japan. Under Japanese law, only male royals can ascend the throne, and female royals who marry commoners lose their royal status. While there is public support for female succession, conservative legislators have resisted proposals to relax the rules. —Joyce Wu

Brice Oligui Nguema Wilfried Mbinah / AFP via Getty Images

Gabon

Junta leader Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema announced on March 3 that he will run in this year’s presidential election. In August 2023, Nguema and the military overthrew his cousin Ali Bongo’s government moments after Bongo was declared winner in an election that the military called fraudulent. Bongo and his father had ruled the oil-rich country in central Africa for 55 years, and Bongo was accused of embezzlement and poor governance. Nguema vowed to turn the country over to civilians, but in January the transitional Parliament adopted new electoral rules allowing military personnel to run for president. Nguema will put aside his red military uniform while he campaigns for the April 12 election. —Amy Lewis

New Zealand

Parliamentary Speaker Gerry Brownlee told lawmakers March 4 he wouldn’t hear any more complaints about their country’s name. In Parliament, he said, members may freely use any of New Zealand’s three official languages—English, Māori, or New Zealand Sign Language. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters objected in February when a Green Party member called the country “Aotearoa.” The word, an indigenous Māori term for “land of the long white cloud,” is already printed on New Zealand’s currency and passports. In 2022, the Māori party tried but failed to officially change the country’s name. New Zealand currently requires government departments to prioritize English names, and Peters said he’ll refuse to answer any question using the Māori designation. —Amy Lewis

Fact Box Source: The World Factbook-CIA