Incoming Romanian president pushes crackdown on corruption

Bucharest, 14 November 2014 (MIA) - Romania's president-elect Klaus Iohannis urged parliament on Monday (17 November) to scrap a corruption amnesty bill, moving swiftly to make good on a campaign promise and allay EU fears over graft in the country.

Iohannis will be sworn in as president in December after he inflicted a surprise defeat on Prime Minister Victor Ponta in polls on Sunday (16 November), a result that will maintain a potentially destabilising split between the country's executive powers.

An ethnic German mayor whose campaign was backed by two centre-right parties, Iohannis turned around a 10-point deficit to win the runoff comfortably, as widespread anger at voting problems overseas appeared to galvanise the anti-Ponta camp.

"I will prove Romania is a serious, credible and longterm partner," Iohannis told reporters at a press conference.