Romanain Prime Minister Victor Ponta and his Government have resigned in the wake of protests over the nightclub fire that killed 30 people at a local Metal concert last week, The New York Times reports.
In a statement, Ponta said “I’m handing in my mandate. I’m resigning- and implicitly my government too”. “I am obliged to take note of the legitimate grievances which exist in society. I hope handing in my and my governments mandate will satisfy the demands of protesters.”
The resignation comes after a demonstration of nearly 30,000 people on Tuesday evening in Bucharest, and up to 70,000 across all Romania, calling for the resignations of Ponta, Interior Minister Gabriel Opera and Cristian Popescu Piedone, who was the mayor of the district in which the Nightclub was located.
#Bucharest protest tonight >35k people on the streets. >70k all across #Romania. #corruptionkills pic.twitter.com/EM3jz9CHhh
— Elena Calistru (@MadamadePica) November 4, 2015
#ROMANIA – BUCHAREST: 25.000 SHOUT "ASSASSINS" IN THE UNIVERSITY SQUARE https://t.co/DBVutgGjuk pic.twitter.com/GhZq0SGwFo
— Alexandru Cociorvei (@AlexandruC4) November 4, 2015
The fire occurred on Friday night during a set by Romanian Metal act Goodbye to Gravity, who were celebrating the release of their new album at the Colectiv Nightclub in Bucharest.
Reports suggested that pyrotechnics where responsible for the fire, although investigations are ongoing.
The official death toll currently stands at 32, including both Goodbye to Gravity guitarists Vlad Telea and Mehai Alexandru. Singer Andrei Galut remains in a serious condition, suffering burns to 45 percent of his body.
The three nightclub owners were arrested for manslaughter on Tuesday, with prosecutors stating, according to The Guardian, that the owners allowed a “fireworks show in the indoor venue that was improper as it…contained easily flammable materials illegally installed to avoid additional costs.”
A three day national mourning period was declared as a result of the fire, which has been labelled as the worst in Romania’s history.