End of the parliamentary inquiry into the presidential election of 2009
Romanias Parliament has passed the report of the commission of inquiry into the presidential election of 2009
Mihai Pelin, 13.02.2018, 12:51
Romania’s Parliament meeting in plenary session has passed the report of the commission of inquiry into the presidential election of 2009. The report has been endorsed by the ruling coalition and rejected by the opposition. The chair of the commission, Social-Democrat MP Oana Florea, said that the report was based on dozens of hearings, thousands of pages and a lot of disputes. In her view, the report highlights a number of facts feeding suspicion about the rigging of the presidential election of 2009 won by the former head of state, Traian Basescu, to the detriment of Social-Democrat Mircea Geoana. Oana Florea:
“The Commission has noted concrete actions undertaken by the presidency represented by Traian Basescu and the government headed by Emil Boc, with a view to rigging the election in favour of candidate Traian Basescu. The actions of the two institutions were perfectly synchronized, which proved they were part of a large-scale, well-defined plan and were premeditated. The representatives of the two institutions acted forcefully, in bad faith, utterly defying the law.”
The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union in opposition have criticized the report. Liberal MP Cezar Preda said Parliament could not be a substitute for the state authorities with prerogatives in the field. Cezar Preda:
“There is a report. What does it include actually? There are some conclusions that were primarily drawn politically. What’s their use? Could they be of use to the Prosecutor General’s Office? No, they couldn’t. The respective file was closed by the Prosecutor General’s Office. We demanded that the Commission should conclude its activity, to say nothing of the fact that its establishment was inopportune.”
Directly targeted by the report, former president Traian Basescu, senator of the People’s Movement Party, said that the result of the 2009 ballot had reflected the options of the electorate. Traian Basescu:
“Did Geoana get 70,000 votes less or did I win 70,000 votes more? Let me tell you the truth: I beat Geoana. Such reports are no good, either to democracy or to Parliament, because they make it lose credibility through the fake views they advocate and make public.”
The report highlights the election was rigged to favour Traian Basescu, who thus won his second presidential term in office, which was a narrow victory over Social-Democrat Mircea Geoana. According to the revelations of a controversial journalist, the 2009 election process was allegedly influenced by high-ranking state officials. The investigation into the presidential election of 2009 had been submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office, which closed it, as prosecutors concluded there was no evidence about an electoral fraud. The report passed by Parliament was submitted to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Presidency, the Government and the High Council of Magistracy, institutions that can take action according to their legal prerogatives.
(Translated by A.M. Palcu)
