Dissensions over Postal Voting

Liberal MPs have gone on a token strike, targeting the adoption of postal voting, while in turn the Social-Democrats criticize the Liberals for not promoting the bill while they held the presidency of the Election Code Committee.

Corina Cristea, 05.10.2015, 14:27

After last years shortcomings in the presidential vote organized in polling stations outside Romania, when tens of thousands queued for hours in order to cast their votes, the entire political class agreed at the time on the need to pass the law on postal voting, in order to prevent such things from happening again. A huge scandal arose at the time targeting the Social-Democrat Government. Nearly a year later, little has been done to right those wrongs.

The power and opposition accuse each other of deliberately obstructing the adoption of this draft law in endless public disputes. In order to be valid for the 2016 election, the law on postal voting needs to be adopted by the beginning of next month at the latest, says Alina Gorghiu, the co-president of the National Liberal Party.

Alina Gorghiu: “This token strike is a symbolic gesture. This is our last hope to see something happen over the course of the next weeks. Im also relying on President Iohannis to call parties to consultations. We will continue this effort until postal voting is adopted. We will work, attend Parliament sessions and vote on this topic, but we will ignore all other points on the Parliaments agenda.

Also as a sign of protest, Liberal MP Mihai Voicu stepped down from the helm of Parliaments Election Code Committee, given that the committee members have failed to reach a consensus on postal voting.

At the other end, Social-Democrat interim leader Liviu Dragnea points the finger at the Liberals: “The National Liberal Party has rejected our request to appoint a representative to this committee so that it may continue to function. We are working on this and will have a law that should observe two principles: ensure the right to cast their vote for all Romanians abroad, and to ensure the safety of this vote.

Liberal MP Andreea Paul also said that all Romanians have a right to vote, and that Victor Ponta surely didnt forget he lost the presidential election to the Romanians living in the Diaspora. “The law on postal voting is a hot potato in the hands of the ruling coalition, Andreea Paul went on to say, adding that the Liberals went on a token strike to speed up procedures to adopt the law on postal voting. In response to these accusations Social Democrat Senator Mihai Fifor labeled the Liberals token strike a “cheap political maneuver.