Elections and campaign statements in Romania
On 9 June, Romania holds local and European Parliament elections
Mihai Pelin, 21.03.2024, 13:50
The orthopaedic surgeon Cătălin Cîrstoiu (50), a dean at the “Carol Davila” Medical School in Bucharest and the manager of the Emergency University Hospital in the capital city, is running for mayor general of Bucharest.
He was introduced as the joint candidate of the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. The Social Democrats’ president, PM Marcel Ciolacu criticised the work of the incumbent mayor general and said Bucharest needed someone to coordinate a team, to be a manager and a catalyst of high performance in all areas.
His coalition partner, the Liberal leader Nicolae Ciucă, spoke about consistency and cohesion in the Bucharest local administration, and about a common denominator for what the City Hall and the district mayors should do.
The appointment was criticised by Save Romania Union in opposition, which backs the incumbent mayor Nicuşor Dan for a new term in office.
Another 2 candidacies have already been announced: the incumbent mayor of Bucharest’s district 5, Cristian Popescu Piedone, backed by the Humanist Social Liberal Party, and Mihai Enache, backed by AUR party in opposition.
Cătălin Cîrstoiu’s campaign will be managed by Gabriela Firea, the president of PSD Bucharest, and by her Liberal counterpart, Sebastian Burduja, 2 politicians who had previously announced their own plans to run for mayor general in Bucharest.
Cătălin Cîrstoiu explained why he accepted the challenge of running for office:
Cătălin Cîrstoiu: “As a physician with a sense of civic engagement, I have reached the conclusion that health is not only about the methods employed in hospitals. Patients’ health is tremendously influenced by clean air, by efficient public transportation, by an efficient road infrastructure. In short, by a beneficial environment in which, when it comes to the City Hall, citizens do not need to claim their rights, but rather they find these rights as a given.”
Shortly after the new candidate was introduced, the Bucharest mayor general, Nicuşor Dan, stripped the Liberal deputy mayor Stelian Bujduveanu of his main executive powers. “For 3 years we had a right-wing majority in the Bucharest Local Council, made up the of the National Liberal Party, USR and the People’s Movement Party, but now the Liberals have decided to form another majority with the Social Democrats, which no longer matches the position the deputy mayor was holding,” Nicuşor Dan explained.
Stelian Bujduveanu coordinated areas such as transportation and acted as a liaison with the Bucharest Street Administration and the Bucharest Public Transport Corporation. These responsibilities have now been taken over by the mayor general himself.
Meanwhile, the Central Technical Committee coordinating the organisation of local and European elections convened for the first time on Wednesday. Citizens will be invited to polls first on 9 June, when local and European elections are to be held concurrently. Also this year, presidential elections are scheduled in September and general elections will be held in December. The Constitutional Court Wednesday dismissed a notification submitted by the opposition against bringing forward the presidential election, so the first round will be held on 15 September and the second on the 29 September. (AMP)
