Mayor Dies of COVID, Gets Re-Elected

In the Romanian village of Deveselu, Ion Aliman was a popular mayor—so popular that he was re-elected to a third term Sunday despite having died of COVID-19 complications 10 days earlier. Aliman, who would have turned 57 on election day, received 1,057 out of around 1,600 votes cast on Sunday, the AP reports. After the results came in, dozens of villagers visited Aliman's graves to light candles. "It is your victory," one man said, per Reuters. "Know that you will be proud of us. Rest in peace." Nicolae Dobre, Aliman's deputy, told reporters that "none of the other contenders got the same trust from the voters." Officials said that it had been too late to remove Aliman's name from the ballot and that a new election will be held to choose a living mayor. (More Romania stories.)