Radio România Internațional

Tag: Central Electoral Bureau

  • Romania after the local and European Parliament elections

    Romania after the local and European Parliament elections

    Romanian voters passed the most important test, that of their turnout, in the first episode of this year’s election marathon: over 9.4 million Romanians voted in Sunday’s ballot for the European Parliament and around 9 million in the local elections, which raised total turnout above 50%. According to data presented by the Central Electoral Bureau, most voters are aged 45-64, the fewest aged 18-24, while women voted in greater numbers than men. The parties of the ruling coalition, the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL), advanced joint lists for the European Parliament, which were voted by over half of citizens who hit the polls. The alliance of Romania’s largest traditional parties is followed, at a great distance, by the ultra-nationalist sovereigntists from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and the United Right Alliance, created around the Save Romania Union (USR). The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR) was the last political party to secure representation in the upcoming European Parliament. The vote across the country confirms the supremacy of PSD and PNL, who secured most county councils. They are followed, still at a great distance, by AUR and the United Right.

     

     

     

    In a landscape clearly dominated by mainstream parties, Bucharest continues to stand apart. The race for the mayor general’s office was won by the incumbent mayor, the independent candidate Nicuşor Dan, with over 40% of the vote. Social-Democrat Gabriela Firea hoped to return as Mayor General, but she lost by a great margin. Cristian Popescu Piedone also aspired to win the general mayor’s office. He lost, but attained his real goal: his party, the Social-Liberal Humanist Party (PUSL) secured representation in the Bucharest General Council, while Piedone’s son won the race for the Bucharest District 5 City Hall.  In Cluj, the Liberal Emil Boc won his 6th term in office, USR mayor Dominic Fritz secured a new mandate in Timişoara, Craiova will continue to be administered by the Social-Democrat Lia Olguţa Vasilescu, while Liberal Vergil Chițac will remain mayor of Constanţa. To a large extent, political dialogue ahead of the presidential and parliament elections slated for later this year depends on the results of the local and European Parliamentary elections.

     

     

     

    With respect to the European Parliament elections elsewhere in Europe, in ex-communist member states, the extreme right was less successful than in the West, Reuters reports. Far-right and extremist parties won the elections in France, where they caused a political earthquake, but also in Austria and Italy, and came second in Germany and the Netherlands. The Euro has already depreciated against the US Dollar, and Bloomberg says the deteriorating political climate in Europe is likely to add more pressure on the single currency. (VP)

  • Elections and candidates

    Elections and candidates

    The start of the election year in Romania will be June 9, when around 19 million Romanians are expected to vote in local and European Parliament elections. The president of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, held a press briefing detailing how elections will unfold. Almost 19,000 polling stations will be set up at national level and 915abroad, twice the number of previous rounds of election. The total number of candidates stands at over 207,000, of whom 494 are enrolled in the race for the European Parliament. Almost 100 million ballots have already been printed and distributed across the territory, Toni Greblă said, adding that Romanian citizens can only vote at the polling station in the area of their residence in the local election. Citizens who’ve changed their residence address at least 60 days before the election can also vote in their designated polling stations. Toni Greblă also mentioned the documents required to vote in Romania – an identity card or other suitable documents except travel passports. People who need a mobile ballot box can request one, and citizens who cannot cast their votes due to visible signs of illness can be accompanied in the voting booth by a person of their choice, who cannot however be a member of the polling station or an official candidate.

     

     

    In the European Parliament election, eligible voters who reside or are temporarily living abroad can vote in any polling section abroad, upon presenting a Romanian identity document valid on the day of the vote. Voters must put a stamp on each of the five ballots they will receive, and any ballot inserted into a box other than the designated one will be considered valid and will not be canceled, Toni Greblă said.

     

     

    As early as last week, the Foreign Ministry dispatched all materials related to the vote to Romania’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad: over 2.5 million ballots, stamps, adhesive stamps and control stamps. The list of polling stations abroad is available on the website of the Foreign Ministry, in the section devoted to the European Parliament election. Voting will start at 7:00 AM and end at 10:00 PM with the possibility of voting hours being extended until midnight if there are still voters in line who want to vote, Toni Greblă explained. On the other hand, the Central Electoral Bureau announced that real time updates will be provided on voter turnout on election day for each individual election, and that once polls close, the minutes from each polling station will be published on the Bureau’s website. (VP)

     

  • Local Elections Results

    Local Elections Results

    Two weeks after the local elections in Romania, which took place in special conditions, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Central Electoral Bureau announced the final results. The pandemic changed the calendar of elections originally scheduled for June, which were postponed to September 27, thus extending the terms of local elected officials by half a year.



    According to the Central Electoral Bureau, the oldest political party in Romania, the ruling National Liberal Party, won the largest number of votes in the recent election, both at the level of mayoralties (34.58%), and at the level of local and county councils. The Social Democratic Party, in opposition, ranked second, with a score of 30.34% for mayoralties. However, in terms of the number of mayors and presidents of county councils, the Social Democrats outnumbered the Liberals. The final data show that the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance is in third place with a score of less than 7 percent.



    Regarding the positions of presidents of county councils, the Social Democratic Party got 16 seats by itself and 4 due to electoral alliances, the National Liberal Party won 15 seats and another 2 due to electoral alliances, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians won 4 seats. In Bucharest, the General City Hall was won by the mathematician and civic activist Nicusor Dan. He ran as an independent, but supported by Liberals and the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance.



    This is the second time that Nicușor Dan run for the position of mayor general of the capital, but this time, he won the confrontation with the incumbent mayor Gabriela Firea, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, to whom he had lost 4 years before. This year, two of the promises with which Nicusor Dan won over the majority of Bucharest residents who went to the polls are access to European funds to solve the problems related to district heating and improve surface and underground public transport.



    On the other hand, the Social Democratic Party got the biggest number of votes for the General Council and for the local councils of districts 1, 2, 5 and 6 and, in alliance with the Social Liberal Humanist Power Party, of district 4, and Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance received most of the votes for the Local Council of district 3. The recent local elections are seen as a test for the parliamentary ones which should take place on 6 December. There is, however, an initiative of an independent deputy, who recently submitted to the Senate a bill proposing the postponement of the parliamentary elections for March 14, 2021. (M. Ignatescu)