Romanians Re-Elect Mayor Who Died Of COVID-19 Two Weeks Ago

KEY POINTS

Ion Aliman was the mayor of Deveselu, a village in Southern Romania
He died on Sept. 17 due to COVID-19
His supporters said he deserved the victory

The former mayor of a Romanian village who died of COVID-19 two weeks ago secured a landslide victory in the country's municipal elections.

Ion Aliman, the mayor of Deveselu, a village of around 3,000 people located in Southern Romania, was re-elected to a third term after securing 64% of the votes in the election held Sunday, Reuters reported, citing data from local electoral bureau.

Local election officials told the publication that they couldn't remove Aliman's name from the ballots due to time constraints, adding that a new election will be held. His deputy will serve as an interim mayor until then, news agency UPI reported. Aliman died at a hospital in Romania's capital city of Bucharest on Sept. 17 due to complications related to the coronavirus.

Aliman's supporters were aware of his death when they cast their votes. They said he deserved the win.

A video posted on Youtube showed dozens of supporters holding a candlelight vigil at his grave after the election. "It is your victory," supporters were heard saying in their local language, according to Reuters. "Know that you will be proud of us. Rest in peace."

Aliman, a former naval officer, was a member of Romania's Social Democratic Party. Despite Aliman's victory in Sunday's election, the party lost key city and county council seats to the ruling centrist National Liberal Party and the center-right USR-Plus alliance.

Romania has recorded at least 123,944 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday, with 4,784 deaths, according to Worldometer data.