Romania – between two elections

With final results of local elections made public, Romania prepares for parliamentary elections on 6th December.

Corina Cristea, 06.10.2020, 13:50

The epidemiological situation created by
the novel coronavirus has altered the elections calendar in Romania, so the
local elections, which were initially scheduled for June, were held at the end
of September. 48% of voters took part in the ballot and the Permanent Election
Authority has now published on its website the final results, with the
exception of localities where a new ballot will be held. A map of results shows
that the biggest opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, won 20 county
council seats, the ruling National Liberal Party 17 and the Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians in Romania 4. The Liberals won, however, more votes overall,
namely 34%. The Social Democrats won 30% and USR-PLUS 13%. The candidates
supported by the centre-right alliance won the position of Bucharest mayor and three
of the capital city’s six sectors, but the Social Democrats have more mayors
countrywide.

The results of the local elections are
seen as a barometer for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled on 6th December.
However, a bill has been submitted to postpone these elections for next year,
in March. The bill was initiated by an independent MP and for now has been
submitted for an opinion to the government’s legislative council and social and
economic council. A reply is expected within 30 days at the latest. The idea to
postpone the elections is opposed by the Liberals, who are saying that the
current Parliament, where the Social Democrats have a majority, no longer
represents people’s will. The Social Democrats say they are preparing for elections
on 6th December, but they are not ruling out a postponement
depending on the evolution of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, political parties have begun
drawing up the lists of candidates for the diaspora, for which the deadline is
7th October. The Liberals say for these lists they are
considering exclusively candidates from among the diaspora who have made their
communities proud, whether university professors or business people. The Social
Democratic Party also has a number of criteria for its diaspora candidates,
which include communication skills, intellectual abilities, media exposure,
integrity and leadership. The parliamentary elections will be held in the
diaspora over the course of two days, on 5th and 6th December.
Given that setting up polling stations in a number of countries with large
ethnic Romanian communities will not be possible because of the coronavirus
pandemic, the authorities in Bucharest are recommending Romanians living abroad
to register for vote by mail. The registration deadline has been extended until
21st October.