Romania after Friday’s no-confidence motion
Political tensions run high in the wake of Fridays failed vote of no-confidence in Parliament.
Corina Cristea, 15.06.2015, 12:53
As expected, last Fridays motion of no-confidence filed by the Liberals against Victor Pontas cabinet did not pass, adding to the other two failed attempts to remove the ruling coalition from power. The opposition has proved that it still lacks majority in Parliament and the Government must continue its activity, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said shortly after the vote. The Prime Minister recalled that Parliament is already working on new bills on legislative elections and postal voting and expressed once again regret concerning the unfortunate events of November last year, when thousands of Romanians could not cast their votes in the presidential elections. Victor Ponta:
“I believe the only important thing right now is to take the right actions so that future elections should be held in appropriate circumstances. We have supported and will continue to support the idea that the Permanent Election Authority should be responsible for organizing the elections, both at home and abroad, so as to rule out any political disputes in this respect.
The Liberals on the other hand say Fridays vote reflects a lack of respect for the people and that they will file a new motion of no-confidence this autumn. The Liberals are calling on the Prime Minister to step down, given that his legitimacy is being called into question. Here is Liberal co-president Alina Gorghiu.
“Victor Ponta has lost his nationwide legitimacy because he is setting Romanians against each other, and, unfortunately for all of us, he also lost his moral legitimacy, because he was invested by a majority different than the current one. I never thought a young man could go as far as depriving Romanians of their right to vote.
Despites Fridays positive outcome, Victor Pontas problems are far from being over. He continues to be investigated in a criminal case where he is accused of forgery of documents under private signature, accessory to recurrent tax evasion and money laundering, which he committed during his tenure as a lawyer. Additionally, Gabriel Oprea, Deputy Prime Minister and the leader of the National Union for the Progress of Romania has warned that his party might step down. Parliament this week is due to discuss 22 amendment propositions for the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes.
Some of them are highly controversial, such as the pre-trial arrest based on true and just cause, which goes against the reasonable doubt motivation used so far, but also the elimination of the provision dictating that suspects placed on pre-trial arrest for non-violent deeds need to be handcuffed. Gabriel Oprea says the National Union for the Progress of Romania supports the consolidation of the judiciary and the rule of law and cannot condone any attempt to undermine these two pillars of democracy.
