Melescanu to observe decision to be stripped of political support, pleading no wrong

Teodor Melescanu on Monday said he would respect the decision of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) to withdraw its support to him for the office of the foreign minister, adding that he is waiting for the prime minister's decision to reshuffle the cabinet.

"The ALDE Political Bureau has decided to withdraw political support for my position as minister of foreign affairs amidst negative public perception of the way in which the elections to the European Parliament were conducted for Romanian abroad. Of course I will respect the decision of the Political Bureau of ALDE to have the party's its political support for me withdrawn, and I am waiting for the prime minister's decision to reshuffle," Melescanu said in a Facebook post.

He pleaded no wrong done. "I want to emphasise that there is no guilt, the only issues I am taking responsibility for are doubling the number of polling stations and following the legal provisions (Law 33/2007 on the organisation and conduct of the elections to the European Parliament), which should have been updated by Parliament," Melescanu added.

ALDE has picked Ramona Manescu to replace Melescanu.