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| - Romania's leftist opposition launched a no-confidence procedure against the incumbent liberal government on Monday, raising the possibility of early elections if it succeeds. A no-confidence vote will now take place this week in parliament, and on Monday the leader of the opposition Social Democrats (PSD), Marcel Ciolacu, told reporters: "I'm sure we have enough votes for the motion to pass." His party needs a minimum of 233 votes from a total of 465 MPs to topple the government. The move was triggered by an announcement by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban that he would try to change the law for local elections. The PSD is vehemently opposed because it sees the move as a threat to their chances of success in local elections due in June. Ironically, Orban may actually benefit from a no-confidence vote if it does lead to early national elections, because his party is currently enjoying large leads of more than 20 percent in the polls. If the motion succeeds, President Klaus Iohannis must appoint a new prime minister who in turn must try to assemble a parliamentary majority. Orban's minority government was installed in November following a previous no-confidence vote against the former PSD-led administration. The PSD won the parliamentary elections with a landslide in 2016, but its term saw a huge wave of street protests over controversial judicial reforms. Last May, the PSD took a drubbing in European parliamentary elections and saw Ciolacu's predecessor, Liviu Dragnea, sent to jail for corruption. They also heavily lost the presidential elections in November, handing Iohannis, who hails from the centre-right, a second term. ii/jsk/spm
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