Radio România Internațional

Tag: queue

  • Talks on improving election laws

    Talks on improving election laws

    It happened in the presidential elections of 2014, and once again, at a much larger scale, in the May 26 elections for the European Parliament: tens of thousands of people queued for hours in polling stations abroad in order to exercise their constitutional right to vote, and many of them didnt even get to cast their ballots.



    “The humiliation experienced by Romanian citizens in the May 26 vote must never happen again, President Klaus Iohannis warned. According to him, Parliament, the Government, the Interior and the Foreign Ministries and the Permanent Electoral Authority must take all measures to eliminate the factors found to have contributed to this problem. Such measures, the head of state insisted, must cover all types of elections and referendums.



    A task force set up within the Presidency following the incidents reported on May 26 has listened to the opinions of citizens living abroad, of the relevant authorities, of NGOs and election experts, and together they have identified the measures that should be taken so that all citizens may vote in decent conditions.



    Klaus Iohannis: “These measures are aimed at eliminating red tape in the voting process in polling stations abroad, at properly equipping polling stations, at amending the election laws with respect to the procedures to be followed in closing polling stations, at increasing the number of polling stations outside Romania, at introducing early voting in the presidential election, in extending the option of mail voting, which is already in place for parliamentary elections, but should also be available for the presidential and other types of elections.



    Directly targeted by accusations of flawed organisation of the voting process in the diaspora during the EP elections, the Social Democratic Party in power says that tackling what went wrong in these elections was already a matter of interest to the Social Democrats, even without the Presidents request. The Social Democratic Party spokesman, Mihai Fifor, explained:



    Mihai Fifor: “The Permanent Electoral Authority has already announced that next week they will present the Cabinet with a draft emergency order on mail voting and extended early voting. As far as we know, the Permanent Electoral Authority suggests extended early voting by up to 7 days for those who will vote by mail. A lot of aspects are being analysed as we speak. What we are certain of is that we intend to address what went wrong on May 26.



    The ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats also considers setting up a parliamentary inquiry commission to look into the EP elections, amid allegations of vote rigging by means of supplemental voter lists. The right-wing opposition dismisses these suspicions as ridiculous, given that ballot stuffing is impossible once the voter ID is electronically recorded.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Parliamentary debates in Bucharest

    Parliamentary debates in Bucharest

    After the elections for the European Parliament and the justice referendum, the Romanian Parliament has a busy agenda this week. On Tuesday, the foreign minister Teodor Melescanu is invited by the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union to answer questions before the Chamber of Deputies, whereas the Senate is discussing a simple motion tabled against him by the Opposition.



    The political debates will focus on the voting problems in polling stations abroad on May 26. The Liberals, Save Romania Union and the Peoples Movement Party call for the resignation of the foreign minister over the poor management of the voting process.



    Also this week, Parliament leaders will convene to decide on the set up of an election code committee, as agreed in a meeting held by the ruling coalition. The president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, explained that committee members should draw up a bill enabling all citizens to exercise their voting rights in an efficient manner.



    Calin Popescu Tariceanu: “We will invite the Central Electoral Authority, which as far as I know has already mentioned a number of proposals, including an extended early vote, electronic voting or mail voting. We will also invite the Foreign Ministry and the Interior Ministry, so as to identify the most appropriate solution and to avoid such crowding and queuing in the future.



    During the May 26 vote for the European Parliament and the justice referendum, thousands of Romanians living abroad were unable to cast their votes because of the poor organization, in spite of the near doubling of polling stations set up abroad. A report issued by the Foreign Ministry at the request of PM Viorica Dancila denies any responsibility for the problems, and blames them on President Klaus Iohannis, who asked for a referendum on the same day as the European elections. Another accusation brought by the Opposition against the foreign minister is also the failure of Romanias candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council.



    Meanwhile, the Opposition is also trying to get the required number of votes for a no-confidence motion to remove the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats from power. The Liberal Senator Alina Gorghiu said the other opposition parties promised to back the motion:



    Alina Gorghiu: “I appreciate the openness of all those in the Parliament of Romania who are willing to cast their vote to dismiss the Cabinet through a no-confidence motion, and I assure those who cling on to power, and Mrs. Dancila too, that their unwillingness to step down turns them into a party that is irrelevant in the political arena.



    In turn, ProRomania, an opposition party headed by the former Social Democratic prime minister Victor Ponta, announced that, although they did not sign the no-confidence motion, they will vote to dismiss the Cabinet.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Diaspora voting problems, once again

    Diaspora voting problems, once again

    The Foreign Ministrys head office in Bucharest was picketed on Monday night, with protesters demanding Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanus resignation after large numbers of Romanians living abroad were unable to cast their votes in Sundays EP elections and referendum on the judiciary. Concurrently, an online petition asking the Foreign Minister to step down had already been signed by tens of thousands of people the first day after its launch.



    Thousands of people were unable to exercise their constitutional right to vote on Sunday because of the poor organisation, although the number of polling stations set up abroad had been almost doubled. But the procedure was cumbersome, and simple math says more voting booths, more stamps, more employees were necessary for all interested voters to be able to cast their ballots. Critics recalled that the same happened in the 2014 presidential election, and the end of which the Foreign Minister, the same Teodor Melescanu, actually resigned.



    This time around, he merely apologised to the Romanians in the diaspora who had to queue for hours before they could vote. Or before they couldnt—because some polling stations closed at the set deadline in spite of the requests to extend voting hours coming from citizens, from the Opposition parties and from the President of the country.



    The day after the election, President Klaus Iohannis spoke about the situation in the diaspora:



    Klaus Iohannis: “It is unacceptable for the authorities to scorn the Romanians in the diaspora. Romanians were once again subjected to humiliation by a government who fails to understand that its role is to serve citizens and not to work against them. Given the very serious problems of 2014, which regretfully resurfaced yesterday, I call on the relevant authorities to take immediate measures to make sure that the Romanians living abroad are able to cast their ballots in normal circumstances, without queuing for long hours only to exercise their constitutional right to vote.



    Teodor Melescanu admitted that the voting unfolded in a less than satisfactory manner in several countries, and announced that he ordered an investigation and requested the drafting of a bill for a voting system adapted to the needs of the diaspora.



    In Brussels, the European Commission said member states must make sure that all citizens can exercise their right to vote, and added that it will draw up a report closely examining how the elections took place in all member countries.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)