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Tag: parliamentary elections

The Week in Review, December 4-10

Saturday is a day of reflection in the run-up to the December 11th parliamentary elections in Romania

Saturday is a day of reflection in Romania, in the run-up to the December 11th parliamentary elections. There are 6,500 people registered to compete for one of the 466 parliament seats, 136 in the Senate and 312 in the Chamber of Deputies. Adding to that there are 18 seats for the representatives of the national minorities, except for the Hungarian ones, whose representation is secured ex-officio. There are 43 constituencies: 41 counties, Bucharest and the Diaspora.

The ballot will unfold in keeping with the new election legislation, which brings back, after an 8-year break, the list voting system. For a month, the candidates presented their political agendas and electoral offers by means of posters, rallies and meetings with the voters. December 8th was the deadline for submitting to the Electoral Bureau the envelopes containing the forms need for postal voting, which is a first in the Romanian election history. During Sundays elections, the IT monitoring system will automatically report to the police any record of multiple voting. The Interior Ministry has announced that after all the polls are closed, the stamps will be sealed. All IT operations will be recorded and stored, the ballot counting process will be video recorded, and the minutes will be filled in electronically and published automatically.

The Romanian Foreign Minister participated in the NATO meeting in Brussels

The new deep cooperation between NATO and the EU must also be applied to the neighborhood, in keeping with each organizations capacity, the Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu said at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. Referring to Russia, the Romanian official said that, although opinions may slightly differ, all the allies are in favour of a combination of deterrence measures and open dialogue. Lazar Comanescu: “Participating and cooperating with Russia for settling issues such as the crisis in Syria must not trigger in turn the risk of diminishing the attention that needs to be paid to the eastern neighborhood.

Lazar Comanescu also reiterated Bucharests unequivocal support for Ukraines independence and territorial integrity, as well as for boosting cooperation between Kiev authorities and NATO. The participants also reviewed the situation in Afghanistan, and, against that background, the Romanian Foreign Minister presented Romanias significant contribution to NATOs commitments to that country.

At the last NATO meeting this year, the participating foreign ministers also endorsed a package of 42 measures aimed at deepening cooperation with the EU in seven areas, including countering hybrid and cyber threats, working together in maritime operations and capability development.

A week has been dedicated to the fight against border corruption

Romania celebrated International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December, organizing Fighting Border Corruption Week, in addition to applying enhanced measures to stop tax evasion. Between December 5th and 9th, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate worked to encourage responsible behavior and eliminating the risk of corruption, as well as raising awareness among citizens transiting the border with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Citizens of the three states and tourists that crossed the border at Sighet, Halmeu, Galati, Oancea, Albita, Siret and the international airport in Bucharest, Otopeni, got from representatives of the NAD and the border police information materials, alongside recommendations to act with integrity and be proactive in signaling acts of corruption. In parallel with measures against corruption at the border, in December tax inspectors are running a campaign to check the books of a large number of companies.

A strategy is put in place to motivate physicians to stay and work in Romania

This week, a strategy was introduced by Romanian Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu. It is aimed at motivating physicians to stay and work in the country. Since 2007, when Romania joined the European Union, over 43,000 experts have applied for work abroad, which is the reason the four-year plan has been put in place.

Minister Voiculescu: “Hospitals are facing a major staff shortage, and entire towns and villages don’t have a family physician. Motivating medical staff to stay and practice in Romania also refers to applying wage policies based on performance and results, granting incentives for practicing in isolated areas, as well as other financial incentives.

Minister Voiculescu added that a few steps have already been taken to provide better pay in healthcare, such as better evaluations of hospital managers, while competitions for positions are more transparent by having all openings published on the government’s online platform. The plan, issued by the Health Ministry, with help from the Presidency and the World Health Organization, contains measures to provide better pay in healthcare, and better opportunities for career development.

11 December 2016
December 11, 2016 UPDATE (8p.m.)

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS– Over 18 million Romanian citizens are called to the polls today, to elect their MPs. Almost 6,500 candidates are running for a total of 466 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The number of MPs will be lower in the future legislature, after Romania relinquished the uninominal vote and returned to the party list system, which was last used at the 2004 elections. The Romanian diaspora will be represented by two senators and four deputies. According to the latest data, some 95 thousand Romanians abroad have already cast their votes, most of them in the Republic of Moldova, Italy and Spain. As a first, postal voting has been introduced for the Romanians living outside the borders of the country. Also as a first, ballot counting will be video-recorded, and the minutes will be filled in electronically, in order to eliminate suspicions of rigging. Thirteen hours after the start of the voting, the turnout at national level stood at 38.6%. The highest turnout was registered in the southern counties, whereas the lowest in the west and the north. In Bucharest, which is home to a tenth of the total number of Romanian voters, the turnout stood at 40.2%. Since the start of the voting, more than 200 complaints and notifications of possible contraventions and offences related to the electoral process have been registered at national level, the Romanian Interior Ministry has announced. 33 people are being investigated for potential infractions, most of them concerning vote fraud. No major public order incident concerning the unfolding of the electoral process in good conditions has been reported so far.

MOURNING-Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis and the Romanian Foreign Ministry have firmly condemned the double bomb attack that rocked Istanbul last night and sent messages of condolences to the families of the victims. Both the Romanian President and the Foreign Ministry reiterated Romanias commitment to the world efforts to fight terrorism. The US, Great Britain and NATO have also condemned the Istanbul attacks. Turkey has declared a day of national mourning after the two attacks, which made 38 victims, mostly police officers, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey will fight terrorism “to the end.” The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a radical group linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has claimed responsibility for the attacks carried out in Istanbul.

CORRUPTION– Pediatric surgeon Gheorghe Burnei, Head of the Pediatric Surgery and Orthopedic Clinic of the Marie Curie Hospital in Bucharest was taken into custody on Saturday evening by prosecutors and was brought to court on Sunday, with the proposal of preventive arrest. A celebrity in his field of activity, doctor Burnei is suspected of acts of corruption, after several parents complained he had requested money from them to perform surgeries on their children and he reportedly made non-homologated experiments on children. Also on Saturday, the former manager of the Malaxa Hospital in Bucharest, doctor Florin Secureanu, was placed in preventive arrest for 30 days. In one of the most resounding corruption scandals on the Romanian medical scene, Secureanu is accused of bribe taking and embezzlement in continued form. The national anti-corruption prosecutors who investigate the case claim that, in the May 2009 – November 2016 period, the former manager designed and applied a scheme to illegally cash in sums of money from the hospitals pay office on a daily basis, bringing a prejudice of some 500 thousand Euros.

ROME– The Italian President Sergio Mattarella received the acting foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni at the Quirinal Palace on Sunday and asked him to form a new government, after Matteo Renzi stepped down following the failure of the referendum on the constitutional reform, held on December 4, the Italian presidency has announced. Paolo Gentiloni, 62, a close of Renzis, will form the cabinet and then will go to Parliament for a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister designate has mentioned the elimination of the effects produced by the recent quakes in central Italy and the adoption of a new electoral law, among its top priorities.

MACEDONIA– Early legislative elections, deemed by both the power and the opposition as a referendum on the future of the country, are held in Macedonia today. According to pundits the ballot should put an end to the political crisis started in the spring of 2014, when the Social-Democratic opposition accused the conservative government of rigging the elections. The international community announced it would closely monitor the electoral process in the former Yugoslav republic, and that by holding correct and democratic elections, Macedonia will come closer to the European Union and NATO.

HANDBALL– Romanias national womens handball team is today facing Hungary, in the first group-stage match of the European Championships, in Sweden. On Saturday evening, the Romanians could not train according to the schedule, because of a fire alert in the sports hall where they were supposed to train. Romania will face the Czech Republic on December 13 and Denmark a day later. In the first stage of the competition, Romania lost 21-23, to the defending European and world champion, Norway, defeated the Olympic champion, Russia, 22-17, and outperformed Croatia, 31-26. Romanias national team is coached by a Spaniard, Ambros Martin, who last month replaced Swedish Tomas Ryde, under whose guidance Romania won the bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Denmark.

11 December 2016
December 11, 2016

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS – Over 18 million Romanian citizens are called to the polls today, to elect their MPs. Almost 6,500 candidates are running for the 466 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The number of MPs will be lower in the future legislature, after Romania relinquished the uninominal vote and returned to the party list system, which was last used during the 2004 elections.

UPDATE (18.00 hours, local time): The Romanian diaspora will be represented by two
senators and four deputies. The latest data show some 82 thousand Romanians in
the diaspora have already cast their votes. As a first, postal voting has been
introduced for the Romanians living outside the borders of the country. As
another novelty, ballot counting will be video-recorded, and the minutes will
be filled in, in an electronic format, in order to eliminate suspicions of
rigging. Eleven hours after the start of the voting, the turnout at national level
stood at some 34%. The highest turnout was registered in the southern counties,
whereas the lowest in the west and the north. In Bucharest, which is home to a
tenth of the total number of Romanian voters, the turnout stood at over 35%.
Since the start of the voting, dozens of complaints and notifications of possible
contraventions and offences related to the electoral process have been
registered at national level, the Romanian Interior Ministry has announced.
Most complaints and notifications have been registered in urban areas.
According to the Interior Ministry, no major incident disturbing public order
or the unfolding of the electoral process in good conditions has been reported
so far.

MOURNING-Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis and the
Romanian Foreign Ministry have firmly condemned the double bombing which rocked
Istanbul last night and sent a message of condolences to the families of the
victims. Both the Romanian President and the Foreign Ministry reiterated
Romania’s commitment to the world efforts to fight terrorism. The US, Great
Britain and NATO have also condemned the Istanbul attacks. Turkey has declared
a day of national mourning after the two attacks, which made 38 victims, mostly
police officers, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey will fight
terrorism to the end. The Kurdistan Freedom
Falcons (TAK), a radical group linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has
claimed responsibility for the attacks carried out in Istanbul.

CORRUPTION– The Bucharest Court on Sunday decided to
place paediatric surgeon Gheorghe Burnei under home arrest. The Head of the
Paediatric Surgery and Orthopaedic Clinic at the Marie Curie Hospital in
Bucharest is accused by the prosecutors of having received money from the
parents of the children he has operated on. Burnei had been taken into custody
on Saturday evening. A celebrity in his field of activity, doctor Burnei is
suspected of acts of corruption, after several parents complained he has requested
money from them to perform surgeries and he has reportedly made non-homologated
experiments on children. Also on Saturday, the former manager of the Malaxa
Hospital in Bucharest, doctor Florin Secureanu, was placed in preventive arrest
for 30 days. In one of the most resounding corruption scandals on the Romanian
medical scene, Secureanu is accused of bribe taking and embezzlement in
continued form. The national anti-corruption prosecutors who investigate the
case claim that, in the May 2009 – November 2016 period, the former manager
designed and applied a scheme to illegally cash in sums of money from the
hospitals’ pay office on a daily basis, bringing a prejudice of some 500
thousand Euros.

ROME– The Italian President Sergio Mattarella
received the acting foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni at the Quirinal Palace on
Sunday and asked him to form a new government, after Matteo Renzi stepped down
following the failure of the referendum on the constitutional reform, held on
December 4, the Italian presidency has announced. Paolo Gentiloni, 62, a close of
Renzi’s, will form the cabinet and then will go to Parliament for a vote of
confidence. The Prime Minister designate has mentioned the elimination of the
effects produced by the recent quakes in central Italy and the adoption of a
new electoral law, among its top priorities.

MACEDONIA – Early legislative elections, deemed by both the power and the opposition as a referendum on the future of the country, are held in Macedonia today. According to pundits the ballot should put an end to the political crisis started in the spring of 2014, when the Social-Democratic opposition accused the conservative government of rigging the elections. The international community announced it would closely monitor the electoral process in the former Yugoslav republic, and that by holding correct and democratic elections, Macedonia will come closer to the European Union and NATO.

HANDBALL – Romanias national womens handball team is today facing Hungary, in the first group-stage match of the European Championships, in Sweden. On Saturday evening, the Romanians could not train according to the schedule, because of a fire alert in the sports hall where they were supposed to train. Romania will face the Czech Republic on December 13 and Denmark a day later. In the first stage of the competition, Romania lost 21-23, to the defending European and world champion, Norway, defeated the Olympic champion, Russia, 22-17, and outperformed Croatia, 31-26. Romanias national team is coached by a Spaniard, Ambros Martin, who last month replaced Swedish Tomas Ryde, under whose guidance Romania won the bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Denmark. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

11 December 2016
Elections for the Future of Europe

The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has stated that the result of the referendum in Italy is disappointing, but not catastrophic. Some 60% of the Italians rejected the reforms proposed by the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and the voting was interpreted as a display of Euro-skepticism. In an interview on the Dutch public television, Jean-Claude Juncker voiced worries over the increasing number of those who are turning their backs to European integration and termed the populists ideas as dangerous. Sometimes the responses are not correctly articulated, in spite of the right question. We are living dangerous times, adding that the pro-Europeans do not always have the right solutions, nor do anti-Europeans, Juncker went on to say.

Juncker admitted that there were colleagues of his in the European Commission who believed that the Union was going to fail as a project, but he voiced his conviction that the European spirit would prevail. According to Jean-Claude Juncker, people will eventually understand that it is better to stay united, rather than repeat the tragic experiences of this continent.

2017 is going to be a tough year for Europe. The joy triggered by the outcome of the presidential elections in Austria, where the far-right wing lost to the pro-European contender, might dissipate quite rapidly, because of the referendum in Italy. The defeat suffered by the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is further encouragement to the extremist and euro-skeptic movements. And all this against the background of presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in several European countries. So, the electoral stakes are going to be pretty high in France, Germany and the Netherlands, and very likely in Italy too. The echoes of the anti-elite voting in Italy are being heard all across the EU, because Matteo Renzi was the last of the prime-ministers of the big European states who was still talking about a future of the EU.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is too caught in the domestic political games and she will have to work hard to get support for a fourth term in office. She will have to do that both within her own party, and also at the next year parliamentary elections. In France, Francois Hollande leaving the presidential race left an empty space in the pro-European camp, and Prime Minister Manuel Valls decision to enter the race is no guarantee for success against the National Front and its president Marine Le Pen.

Great Britain too might see early elections, if Theresa May wants more parliamentary support as a result of the Brexit. As regards the relation between the EU and the US, Jean-Claude Juncker believes that the surprise victory scored by Donald Trump is a threat. According to the EC President, Trump knows nothing about the EU and its mechanisms.

(Translated by M. Ignatescu)

6 December 2016
December 5, 2016

ELECTIONS This is the last week of the election campaign for the December 11th parliamentary elections in Romania. According to the legislation in force, the campaign ends on Saturday, December 10. Until then, those who want to become senators or deputies can present their political agendas and electoral offers through posters, rallies, meetings with the voters and through the media. The radio and TV campaign ends on December 9th. There are 6500 people running for 136 senator and 330 deputy seats.

ANTI-CORRUPTION An action titled The anti-corruption week at the borders has been launched in Romania. The citizens who will cross the border between Romania and the Republic of Moldova or Ukraine, or will enter the country through the Bucharest – Otopeni airport by December 9th will receive information materials and recommendations from the National Anticorruption Directorate. The event is taking place against the background of Romanias aspirations to join Schengen. A decision on ths matter is still hampered by political considerations.

REFERENDUM Italians have rejected the amendment to the Constitution proposed by the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who has announced he will resign as a result. The constitutional reform was aimed at diminishing the role of the Senate, granting less power to the local administration and more prerogatives to the central government If president Sergio Mattarella accepts the Governments resignation, early elections will be held in Italy, which might benefit the populist Five Star Movement, a party that stands against the Eurozone. According to analysts, Italy might enter a political crisis that would in turn trigger a shock similar to the one caused by the Brexit. Also, the countrys economic situation might be affected. Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone, and its government debts are among the highest in Europe.

AUSTRIAN ELECTION In the decisive round of the presidential elections in Austria on Sunday, the independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen, supported by the Greens, defeated Norbert Hofer, supported by the far right, DPA reports. The far-right Freedom Party has already acknowledged the defeat of its candidate, who got a little under 47% of the votes. This is the third time this year that Austrians have been called to the polls to elect their president. Mays elections were won in the second round also by Alexander Van der Bellen, but Hofer challenged the result, and the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of a re-vote. Van Der Bellen is 72 years old, an economist by trade and, although he was one of the leaders of the Austrian Greens, he ran for president as an independent.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES The French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is going to announce today his candidacy for the 2017 presidential elections, France Presse reports. If he wins the competition within the Socialist Party, Valls will have to defeat in spring the rightist Francois Fillon and Marine Le Pen, member of the National Front. The socialist president Francois Hollande has announced he will not take part in the partys internal competition for a second mandate.

HANDBALL The Romanian national womens handball team is today playing its first game at the European Championship in Sweden against the powerful Norwegian squad, the current European and world champion. Its next opponents in group D will be Russia and Croatia. The Romanian squad is trained by the Spanish Ambros Martin, who was designated the best trainer in the world in 2013 and 2014 and has won the Champion League twice with the Hungarian team Gyor.

5 December 2016
Candidates for the legislative elections

Most political parties in Romania have submitted their lists of candidates for the legislative elections this year. These include both new names, as well as old party hardliners. The party holding most seats in the current Parliament and favored by opinion polls to win is the Social-Democratic Party that submitted a list headed by former Education Minister Ecaterina Andronescu and other former ministers, such as Rovana Plumb, Eugen Teodorovici and Nicolae Baniciou. Former Prime Minister Victor Ponta has filed his candidacy for his constituency in Gorj County, while Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea will be running for office in Teleorman County, commonly seen as his political stronghold.

Liviu Dragnea: “40% of our candidates are women, 40% are young people and over 75% candidates are new. 40% of them are economic or legal experts, it was an aspect that we took very serious”.

The first party to submit its lists was the National Liberal Party, which pundits see as the only right-wing party able to challenge the Social Democrats. Known for his professionalism and acts of charity, neurosurgeon Leon Dănăilă is top of the list for the Senate.

Liberal leader Alina Gorghiu is running for a seat in the Senate in Timis County: “We have people from all walks of life, very-well trained and upstanding people, two criteria which differentiate us from other parties”.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats from Romania (ALDE) lists the party’s two co-presidents, Calin Popescu Tariceanu and Daniel Constantin, both running for Bucharest, but also former ministers, such as Teodor Melescanu or Sorin Campeanu, who will be running in constituencies in the country.

90% of the listed names have only just entered politics, Popescu-Tariceanu says: “I hope this election should consolidate the position of ALDE as the third political faction in Romania, an alternative to traditional parties”.

Former President Traian Basescu will be running on behalf of the People’s Movement Party for the Senate. One of his priority projects, if elected, will be the switch to a single-chamber Parliament with 300 seats, reflecting the will of those who voted in the 2009 referendum.

Traian Basescu: “We will have a 300-seat Parliament, we will revise the Constitution, we will roll back the Education Law and consolidate the judiciary”.

The leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor, is running in his constituency in Harghita County for the Chamber of Deputies. The leader of the Save Romania Union, Nicusor Dan, will be running for Bucharest, followed by a former minister, Cristian Ghinea. Before political parties got to finalize their lists of candidates, US Ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, said that US-Romania relations could be consolidated if the structure of the upcoming Government reflected the principles of integrity and expertise, ruling out people under criminal investigation. (traslation by V. Palcu)

28 October 2016
September 12-17

The French President paid a state visit to Romania

Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, and his French
counterpart, Francois Hollande, agreed in Bucharest that their countries should
boost the strategic partnership and develop cooperation in the fields of
economy, defence, education and research. On this occasion, Klaus Iohannis said
that France is a priority of Romania’s foreign policy. In turn, the French
President said his visit is proof of the privileged economic, cultural and
scientific relations between the two countries. He announced that, from now on,
the Romanian and French defence ministers would have regular meetings, in order
to boost the strategic partnership in the field. The two presidents also
approached such issues as Romania’s Schengen accession and the situation in
neighbouring Ukraine. The common agenda also included a visit to the National Institute of Research and Development in Physics
and Nuclear Engineering, in Magurele, near Bucharest, which hosts the most
powerful laser in the world. The two presidents also attended the opening of
the economic forum French-Romanian Partnerships for the Future. Also,
President Hollande and Romanian technocratic PM, Dacian Ciolos, visited the
Airbus helicopter factory in Ghimbav, central Romania. The latest state visit
by a French President to Bucharest had been paid by Francois Mitterrand, in 1991.

Lower prices for mandatory
liability insurances for car owners

Romanian road carriers have reached an agreement with
the Financial Surveillance Authority (ASF) on the price of mandatory liability
insurance for car owners (RCA). The level of prices, the carriers have
announced, will be three times lower than the current ones. Trade unions in the
field staged big rallies across the country. In another move, the cabinet
adopted an emergency ordinance freezing the prices of mandatory liability car
insurances for car owners set by ASF for six months. Also this week, the Government
adopted Romania’s General Transport Master Plan. The line minister, Sorin Buse, has said the Master Plan provides for building some 6,800 km of
highway and upgrading over 5,000 km of railway, 15 airports and over 30
bridges.

Problems in the budgetary system

The employees of penitentiaries are
preparing for rallies, in protest at not receiving the sums of money that their
colleagues from other institutions in the defence and public order system are
already cashing in. Trade unions claim that, overall, the impact on the state
budget is not significant and that this year’s budget for the penitentiary
system can cover a possible pay-rise. The employees of the system have started
various forms of protest, such as the refusal to work extra hours, which might
block activity in penitentiaries, because of the shortage of staff. The
employees in the healthcare system are also unhappy with the significant wage
gaps in the budget system. They call for the
elimination of inequities from a government ordinance under which only the
salaries of some specific categories of employees have been increased. Trade unions in the healthcare system have
announced they will stage protests next week, to culminate in an all-out
strike, on October 31.

Preparations
for the parliamentary elections

The deadline by which
Romanian citizens living abroad could have enrolled in the Electoral Register,
in order to be allowed to vote in the parliamentary elections scheduled for
December 11, has expired this week. According to the centralised data made
public by the Permanent Electoral Authority, over 10,000 requests have been
validated. Of them 7,200 refer to postal voting and 2,800 to
voting in polling stations. Five days after the closing of electoral
registrations, Romanian citizens who opt for postal voting can check online to
see whether or not they have been registered. Once registered, they will
receive the necessary documents at home, via the Romanian Post, 30 days ahead
of the elections, at the latest. Delivery confirmation is required.

–

A new school year

Over
three million Romanian pupils started a new school year, this week. This year,
too, schools have been faced with problems such as an insufficient
number of teachers or the lack of sanitary and operation permits. The 2016-2017 school year will have 35
weeks, divided into two semesters.

Failures in the Europa League

The two Romanian teams playing in the Europa League
group stage, the defending champion Astra Giurgiu and vice-champion Steaua
Bucharesti, started on the wrong foot. Astra was defeated on home turf, 2-3, by
Austria Vienna, whereas Steaua lost the away match against the Turkish team
Osmanlispor, 0-2. During the current
Europa League football season, Romania has also been represented by
Viitorul Constanta, Pandurii Targu Jiu and
CSMS Iasi, which got eliminated in the qualifiers.

17 September 2016
Voting for Romanians living abroad

According to a government decision, the
parliamentary elections will be held on 11 December. To this end, the Foreign
Ministry is running a public information campaign on ways of voting while
residing abroad. Ministry employees are distributing information literature and
applications to register into the Election Registry. Romanians living abroad
have a deadline to register as voters by September 14. Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Ionut Valcu urged citizens to fill in the applications, saying
that it only involves a few easy steps:

You can download the application from the
Foreign Ministry website, or you can get it from the Romanian diplomatic and
consular offices abroad. You need to fill in the application, tick one of two
options, voting by mail or if you want to have a polling station opened close
to where you reside abroad. Step two is to attach copies of papers documenting
the fact that you reside abroad. In the case of Romanian citizens who have
established residence abroad, they only need to attach a copy of their
passports with residence in a foreign country, and in the case of people who
continue to reside on Romanian territory, it is sufficient to attach a copy of
their identity cards or passports, plus a copy of the documents issued by the
state of residence attesting their residence in that particular state.

The ministry spokesperson said that the
applications to register to vote have to be filed with the nearest consulate or
embassy or be posted or e-mailed. The Permanent Election Authority announced on
Monday that 8,364 applications have been filed by residents abroad so far. Of
them, 6,205 say they wish to vote by mail, while 2,159 have opted for going to
a polling station. The Permanent Election Authority has specified that the
applications to register for voting by mail have been filed in 40 countries,
while the ones opting for polling stations were registered in 33 countries. The
localities abroad where the minimum threshold of 100 voters was reached in
order to set up a new polling station were Soroca and Causeni in the Republic
of Moldova.

In the 2014 election, thousands of Romanians
wishing to exercise their right to vote had to wait in very long lines in major
European cities such as Paris, London, Vienna and Munich. It remains to be seen
what the level of interest will be in the parliamentary elections this winter.

7 September 2016
Parliament and the Elections

The Government in Bucharest has set the date for the legislative elections this year for December 11. The election campaign will unfold over November 11- December 10. Although the lawmakers had few options at their disposal to choose from, they opted for the second Sunday of the month of December.

Liviu Iolu, Government spokesman, explains: “Following consultations, we noticed that a majority of parliamentary parties are in favor of this date, December 11, namely the National Liberal Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the Peoples Movement Party and the National Union for the Progress of Romania. Only the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats from Romania supported the date of December 4.

The Government has also operated certain changes to the manner in which Romanians in the Diaspora will be able to vote. Maria Ligor, Minister for Relations with Romanians Worldwide, said the measures are aimed primarily at removing certain technical barriers in the way of the voting process. Romanians can thus vote either by post, or at the polling stations set up with diplomatic missions, or in other polling stations set up based on the request of at least 100 Romanians residing in a certain area.

Minister Maria Ligor: “Romanians living or residing abroad can vote in any polling station on the additional lists, irrespective of the polling station they choose.

In another move, Parliament resumed its activity on September 1. The leaders of the main parliamentary factions say the main priorities for this months agenda are draft laws in the social, economic, health care and education sectors.

Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea: “We are discussing about the Diaspora, we are interested in this topic, we are also discussing a draft law providing future Governments with a tool that should help create production capabilities.

On the other hand, the Liberals, too, have many legislative initiatives in store. Adriana Saftoiu, Liberal spokesperson: “We will submit the law on the statute of local elected officials, the law on the code of incompatibility for elected officials, the law on gender representation in politics, the law on prevention in healthcare, the law on making 10 May National Independence Day or the patronage law.

The list of draft laws awaiting Parliaments debate and approval also includes the 5% slash of social security contributions, the lawyers law, the law lifting the total ban on smoking in enclosed spaces or the law on prevention in the healthcare system.

(Translated by V. Palcu, edited by D. Vijeu)

1 September 2016