to pass a motion of no confidence on the 5 May 2012, sending the PDL in opposition. When the government fell, Traian Băsescu consulted the parliamentary parties and decided to nominate PSD leader Victor Ponta as Prime Minister. 2012 local elections On 10 June 2012, local elections were held in Romania. The PDL was able to win only two county council presidents (namely in the counties of Arad and Alba) and 10 major city mayors (Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Arad, Suceava, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Alba Iulia, Tulcea, Târgu Mureș, Piatra Neamț, and Târgoviște), which represented a crushing defeat, even if the party accqired 27% of Romania's mayors and almost 23% of the county and local councillors. Because of these results, the then president of PDL, Emil Boc, resigned and called for an early National Convention (congress) of the party, which was held on the 30 June 2012. The Convention elected Vasile Blaga to become the new party president of the PDL and Gheorghe Flutur as secretary-general. 2012 parliamentary elections In the run to the parliamentary elections the PDL announced an alliance with the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚ-CD) and Civic Force (FC) to form the Right Romania Alliance (ARD). The alliance was dissolved on 9 December 2013. 2014 European elections In the 2014 European elections, the PDL received 12.2% of the national vote and returned 5 MEPs. Merger with the National Liberal Party (PNL) In late May 2014 the party agreed in principle to a future merger with the National Liberal Party (PNL), and for the two parties to submit a joint candidate for the upcoming 2014 presidential election. On 17 July 2014 it was announced that the new party formed from a future merger of the PDL and PNL would keep the National Liberal Party name, while being situated in the PDL's existing headquarters in Bucharest and would be registered by the end of 2014. On 26 July 2014, a joint party congress of the PDL and PNL approved the merger. On 28 July 2014 the PDL and PNL formed the Christian Liberal Alliance (ACL) to jointly contest the upcoming presidential election. In the first round of the 2014 presidential election held on 2 November 2014, ACL candidate Klaus Iohannis received 30.4% of the vote, coming in second place behind Victor Ponta, the PSD candidate and incumbent Prime Minister. In the runoff election held on 16 November 2014, Iohannis received 54.5%