Radio România Internațional

Tag: presidential race

  • Who is running for Romania’s presidency?

    Who is running for Romania’s presidency?

    The presidential election is now in a straight line. The most awaited election of all four organized this year in Romania will take place in two rounds: on November 24 and December 8. The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC), meeting on Sunday evening to analyze the last files submitted, rejected 10 candidacies and admitted the registration of another 9. Thus, in total, there are 16 admitted candidates in the race for Romania’s presidency. The final list of competitors will be announced on October 10, after other mandatory documents will be submitted, such as the affidavits regarding their status of workers or collaborators of the Securitate (Political Police of the former Communist regime), as well as the declarations of wealth and interests. The electoral campaign for the presidential election officially begins on October 25 and is about to be a fierce one, given the political stakes of the election.

     

    Unofficially, however, the campaign has already started for weeks, with each of the most famous aspirants to the presidential seat trying to maximize their pole position in the race. These are, in the order of submission of candidacies to the BEC, George Simion, from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), Elena Lasconi representing the Save Romania Union (USR) and Nicolae Ciucă, the leader of the National Liberal Party, followed by Kelemen Hunor, from the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Mircea Geoană, an independent candidate and Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the Social Democratic Party. A huge scandal broke out on Saturday evening, after the judges of the Constitutional Court (CCR) admitted, with a majority of votes, the objections to the registration of Diana Şoşoacă’s candidacy in the presidential race. The controversial MEP submitted a new candidacy file, but it was also rejected on Sunday, this time by the Central Electoral Bureau. The Constitutional Court’s decision to remove the S.O.S. president from the electoral race is final and unprecedented.

     

    Romania has deepened the differences between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL), which are currently partners in the government. Diana Şoşoacă accused that her removal from the race would favor the AUR leader, George Simion, who would thus have better chances to enter the second round, and the social democrat Marcel Ciolacu, credited by the polls with the first chance, would have an easier fight against his opponent in the final round of the presidential election. The opinion was shared by PNL and USR, whose leaders – Nicolae Ciucă and Elena Lasconi – believe that PSD would have influenced the rejection of Mrs. Șoșoacă’s candidacy. The PSD rejected the accusations, and Marcel Ciolacu emphasized that the CCR must quickly publish their motivation, otherwise we can talk about a vulnerability of the democratic system in Romania. The Court’s decision may have constitutional coverage, but it certainly has anti-democratic effects, unhealthy for democracy, the independent Mircea Geoană also reacted. (LS)

  • Candidates in the presidential race

    Candidates in the presidential race

    As anticipated by most commentators, the leader of the Social Democratic Party-PSD, the PM Viorica Dancila, was designated, on Tuesday, by the party’s national executive committee, as candidate for the presidential election. Her candidacy is to be validated on August 3 by the PSD Congress, which is just a formality, according to journalists. Viorica Dancila had become main favorite after the PSD executive president Eugen Teodorovici and the secretary general Mihai Fifor decided to withdraw from the race and announced their support for her. The mayor of Bucharest, Gabriela Firea, who also intended to run for president, has eventually accepted the lack of support from her colleagues.



    The quick and unexpected political rise of Mrs. Dancila could continue after, last month, she took over the presidency of the PSD from her mentor, Liviu Dragnea, who is currently serving time in prison for corruption. According to analysts, Viorica Dancila is however starting in the presidential race from 3rd position. Previously, she had held talks with the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats ALDE, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, and with the head of the Pro Romania party, Victor Ponta, about supporting a common candidate, but discussions were to no avail. Which shows that the leftist voters will be divided.



    Running as favorites for the final tour of the presidential election are the incumbent president Klaus Iohannis, who wants to get a second term, and is supported by the main opposition National Liberal Party, and the leader of the centrist alliance USR-PLUS (Save Romania Union –PLUS), also in opposition, Dan Barna. A lawyer, Dan Barna became known two years ago, when he replaced the founder of Save Romania Union, Nicusor Dan, at the helm of the party. One of Dan Barna’s advantages is his decision to cooperate with the PLUS leader, the former technocratic prime minister Dacian Ciolos. He is also backed by those who have had enough of the same old politicians and parties that are taking turns at the country’s helm.



    Also on Tuesday, president Iohannis tried to improve his image, highlighting the fact that the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and the minorities group in Romania’s parliament signed the National Pact which he had initiated after the referendum on justice and anticorruption held on May 26. The only parliamentary parties that have not signed the pact are PSD and ALDE.


    Journalists have commented that both the president and the prime minister have a minus in this election race, the fact that people have already seen them at work for some time now. Accused by his own voters of lack of reaction and involvement, Klaus Iohannis has become more dynamic only in the past 2 months.



    In turn, Viorica Dancila, labeled as the queen of public blunders, has to deal with what was left behind by the 3 Social Democratic governments that have succeeded each other in power in the past 2 and a half years. These governments were blamed for having tried to subordinate magistrates and stop the anti-corruption fight. (translation by L. Simion)