New election regulations

In a busy election year, the government in Bucharest is preparing for three ballots of local and European importance: the europarliamentary elections at the end of May, the presidential elections in November and a referendum on the amendment of the Constitution. The government has issued an emergency ordinance to make the Election Registry operational and change the law regulating the elections for the European Parliament.

Roxana Vasile, 06.02.2014, 14:28

In a busy election year, the government in Bucharest is preparing for three ballots of local and European importance: the europarliamentary elections at the end of May, the presidential elections in November and a referendum on the amendment of the Constitution. The government has issued an emergency ordinance to make the Election Registry operational and change the law regulating the elections for the European Parliament.

An electronic database managed by the Permanent Election Authority, the Election Registry contains the identity data of the all Romanian voters – including citizens residing abroad- such as name and surname and the series and number of each person’s identity card. The register is constantly updated by the local authorities.

Voters may check their names in the registry and also request to be entered on the list providing their address of residence. This also applies to Romanian citizens residing abroad or who are on a temporary visit abroad. They may request for their names to be included in the register along with their latest address.

The new order issued by the government stipulates that the permanent election lists will be drawn up by mayors based on this registry, which will be used for all types of elections. “All citizens who have the right to vote will be included in the Election Registry and will find their names on the permanent election lists”, says the government, while also pointing out that its emergency ordinance does not restrict or impede in any way people’s voting rights.

The ordinance also stipulates that the Permanent Election Authority will be responsible for purchasing the electronic applications and services used by the Central Election Bureau to centralize the results of the voting for the European elections. Also, the Special Telecommunications Service will provide the special telephony and voice and data communication services used by the election centers.