Eurovision broadcasting head quits over protests about voting

"Moldova's public broadcaster chief Vlad Turcanu has resigned after mass protests and online backlash over the country's Eurovision jury voting record, including awarding Romania only three points. Turcanu, director general of Teleradio-Moldova (TRM), announced his decision at a news conference on Monday. "This was my decision," he said, as per The Independent. Turcanu added: "We distanced ourselves from the jury's voting, but it is still our responsibility, my responsibility in the first instance, as head of this institution.""

"The resignation follows anger over the split between Moldova's jury and televoters during Saturday's Eurovision final. Countless fans slammed the jury's low score for neighbouring Romania on social media, while Moldova's televoters awarded Romania 12 points. Romania was represented by Alexandra Capitanescu. On the other hand, Romania gave Moldova 10 points in the jury vote, and 12 points in the televote."

"Moldova's jury, picked by TRM, awarded 12 points to Poland, which finished 12th, and 10 points to Israel, the contest's second-place finisher. Viewers were also unhappy that the jury awarded no points to Ukraine, while the televoters gave 10 points. Former defence minister Anatol Salaru criticised the jury vote in a Facebook post, writing: "The only thing that matters is votes by ordinary people," adding: "This was a vote among brothers. The rest is an unimportant detail.""

Vlad Turcanu resigned as director general of Teleradio-Moldova following mass protests and online backlash tied to Eurovision jury voting. The controversy centered on the jury awarding Romania only three points while Moldova’s televoters gave Romania 12 points. Turcanu said the broadcaster distanced itself from the jury’s voting but accepted responsibility as head of the institution. The backlash also involved the jury’s scoring of other countries, including giving 12 points to Poland, 10 points to Israel, and no points to Ukraine, while televoters gave Ukraine 10 points. Romania’s jury and televote results toward Moldova were 10 and 12 points respectively, intensifying public scrutiny of voting fairness.

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