Romanian businessman and former tennis player Ion Tiriac took the plane from Paris to Bucharest on Sunday especially to vote in the first sound of the presidential elections, on Sunday, November 2.

He made this decision because in Paris there were large queues both at the Romanian Embassy and at the Romanian Consulate. Ion Tiriac is the second richest Romanian, according to this year’s edition of the Forbes 500 Billionaires list.

“I tried to vote in Paris but there were a lot of people, so we found it was easier to vote here (in Bucharest – e.n.),” said Tiriac, according to stirileprotv.ro. “There were enormous queues. I assume that everyone wants a better future for his country,” he added.

Many people waited in line most of the day at the Romanian Embassy in Paris, but didn’t get the chance to vote. In the end, special troops had to intervene, as many Romanians forced their entry into the Embassy, hoping to be able to finally vote.

There were also queues in London, Vienna and in other large cities in Italy and Germany where the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry has set up voting wards, because of the poor organization. More than 160,000 Romanians voted abroad.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Sibiu’s mayor Klaus Iohannis were the first two candidates after the first round of the presidential elections. They will face each other in the second round, on November 16.

editor@romania-insider.com