Romania's attempt to form a new government failed on Monday after parliament rejected prime minister-designate Adrian Vestea, extending political uncertainty in the country seven weeks after the collapse of the previous administration.
Vestea secured 189 votes in favour and 23 against, well short of the 233 votes required for an absolute majority in the 465-seat parliament. Only 212 lawmakers took part in the vote.
President Nicusor Dan must now nominate another candidate to try to form a government.
Dan had nominated Vestea, a member of the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL), despite opposition from interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, who leads the party. A special party congress on Sunday voted to expel Vestea and his supporters from the PNL, although the decision still requires formal approval from other party bodies.
Dan had sought to revive a coalition between the PNL and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), a party that has faced longstanding accusations of corruption. Bolojan and most PNL lawmakers opposed such an arrangement.
Vestea was backed by the opposition PSD, several dissidents from the PNL and smaller political groups. He also held talks with the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) in an effort to secure support, but AUR lawmakers walked out of parliament before the vote.
Bolojan, widely regarded by supporters as a pro-European reformer, was removed from office in a no-confidence vote on May 5 after a motion backed by the PSD and AUR. Since taking office last year, he had prioritized efforts to repair Romania's strained public finances.
Until his removal, Bolojan led a coalition that included the PSD, PNL, the reformist USR party and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party. The PSD withdrew from the coalition in April. Without the PSD, which remains the largest group in parliament, assembling a stable pro-European majority has proved difficult.
Bolojan remains in office in a caretaker capacity while efforts to form a new government continue.
