The results are in.

So, as many of you know from reading our slightly election-obsessed blog, the Romanian presidential run-off happened on Sunday.  And on Monday morning, to our surprise, we woke to find the results: Klaus Iohannis the winner, Victor Ponta a gracious loser.

We were giddy.

Not because Iohannis is so great, really.  As this article points out masterfully (seriously, read it!), his electoral platform is largely focused on continued economic growth and liberalization, trying to help Romania move more closely into the European Union and the capitalist systems that guide it, with few social programs addressing the poor -- of which Romania has many.  He won't be a perfect president, and perhaps not even a very good one.  But still, we were glad.

Why?  Because it felt like even more than Iohannis, the Romanian people won this election.  They won it through street protests and Facebook posts, through get-out-the-vote campaigns and public advocacy.  Through hours of standing line for the thousands who live and vote abroad, and through long chilly public marches in big cities around the country.  The voice of active citizens was raised in this election, voter turnout jumped to about 60%, and that is something great.  Sure, it is less satisfying to be protesting simply in opposition of something known to be bad, without a great alternative to be for.  And yet, it still is a victory, and one that makes me proud of the budding democracy we currently call home.

There are plenty of other undercurrents that darken this scene -- the divide between middle-class and educated Romanians and the poorer, less-educated parts of the country being the primary one (again, read this article!).  Social media comments in this vein have been somewhat ugly lately, particularly one I recently saw directed at the Jiu Valley (where every city voted for Ponta, although pretty much the rest of Transylvania voted for Iohannis).  The writer accused people in the Jiu Valley of being hicks, backwards and dumb, not deserving to be considered part of Transylvania.  And that's ugly, and unfair, and stings a bit -- even though perhaps some of it has glimpses of truth, in the fact that education levels are generally lower here, and votes are more easily bought by a sack of potatoes when your family is hungry, as plenty of families here are.  But it's also not true, judging by the thoughtfulness of our friends here, and by the other comments from people in Lupeni who reacted to an online photo of the mayor passing out bags of food in exchange for a Ponta vote with cries of "Shame!" and "We've voted out Ponta, now let's vote out Resmeriţa (Lupeni's mayor)!"

It's an ugly mix, and there are many factors at play, so none of this can be simplified to an easy right or wrong.  But what is right, and what does make me smile, is to see Romanians voting, speaking up on behalf of what they believe, working together to bring about change.  So now we pray for continued solidarity, for grace and real listening and cooperation, and for the hard work of democracy to be done well.