Local elections in the time of pandemic<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
46% of the Romanians with the right to vote went to the polls
\nlast Sunday to elect their local authorities. Although lower than at the previous
\nsuch election, the turnout was good in the complicated context created by the
\npandemic, which imposed unprecedented health safety measures on election
\nSunday. The vote has already brought about changes and heralds a tough
\nconfrontation at the parliamentary elections due in December. For the first
\ntime, the governing Liberals won the political vote, practically doubling its
\nnumber of county council presidents and winning the majority of town halls. Moreover,
\nthe National Liberal Party broke the monopoly of the Social Democrats in counties
\nthat had been loyal to them for 2 or 3 decades. However, the Social Democratic
\nParty, with the largest number of members in parliament, is still the political
\nparty that holds most mayoralties and the first place with regard to the number
\nof county council presidents. The great loss for the party is the one recorded
\nin Bucharest, which it had totally controlled for four years. The independent
\nNicusor Dan, supported by the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania -
\nPLUS Alliance will be the mayor of the capital, replacing Gabriela Firea. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The candidates of the center-right alliance created ad-hoc in
\nBucharest also won in three of the 6 sectors of the capital. At the Municipal
\nCouncil, the Social Democratic Party is on the first position, but the Save
\nRomania – PLUS Alliance obtained scores that will allow them to decide together
\nthe administration of a city rich in resources, but poor in vision and
\nprojects. Through the second place obtained at the political vote on Bucharest
\nand the winning of some important municipalities like Timi\u015foara and Bra\u015fov, in
\nwhich they dethroned liberal mayors, the Save Romania – PLUS Alliance confirms
\nits status as an alternative political force. The victory of a German in
\nTimi\u015foara and a French woman in sector 1, the richest in Bucharest, is the proof
\nthat the Alliance comes with something new in Romanian politics. Unperturbed by
\nthe pandemic, the electoral process is overshadowed by scandals and cross-fire accusations
\nof fraud between the Social Democratic Party and the Save Romania – PLUS Alliance, especially regarding the number
\nof votes obtained in Bucharest and sector 1 in particular. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Daily records of new coronavirus infections<\/strong> <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This week, Romania has for the first time exceeded the threshold
\nof 2000 daily infections. Specialists had anticipated that this would be the
\ncase, especially after the opening of schools. The number of daily infections
\nis increasing throughout Europe and there is talk of the imminence of a second
\nwave of the pandemic. In Romania, more than 130,000 cases of infection have
\nbeen reported, and the number of dead is approaching 5,000. Some 500 patients
\nare constantly in intensive care, but only one third are intubated and need
\nventilation, said the Minister of Health, Nelu Tataru. At national level, the
\nincidence of COVID-19 cases is close to one in one thousand inhabitants, but
\nthe differences are big from one area to another. That is why the
\nreintroduction of restrictions or even quarantine must be established according
\nto the local situation of the coronavirus epidemic, and not at the level of the
\nentire county, said Prime Minister Ludovic Orban. He also called on the
\nauthorities responsible for daily inspections to ensure compliance with health
\nprotection measures. The Ministers of the Interior, Transport, Labor and Health
\nare called upon to draw up a plan containing clear actions for the
\nimplementation of these measures<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The EC Report on the rule of law and Bucharest’s response<\/strong> <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The health crisis caused by the pandemic has consumed almost all
\nthe energy of the political actors in Bucharest. Thus, the commitment to put back
\non track the judiciary, severely affected by the controversial changes to the
\nlaws of justice and criminal and criminal procedure codes during the last
\nleft-wing government, seemed forgotten. In its latest report on the rule of law
\nin Romania, the European Commission states that the laws of justice, the
\nfunctioning of the National Audiovisual Council, access to public information
\nand the excess of emergency ordinances are the main problems. The document
\nemphasizes that in 2020, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to correct
\nthrough judicial reforms the measures with negative impact adopted in the
\nperiod 2017-2019, which led to the alleviation of tensions in the judiciary. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According
\nto the evaluation, the controversial measures with a negative impact on judicial
\nindependence continue to apply, such as the functioning of the Section for the
\nInvestigation of Crimes in the Judiciary, which deals exclusively with
\nprosecuting crimes committed by judges and prosecutors. Further implementation
\nof these measures increases uncertainty with regard to the functioning of the justice
\nsystem, especially through the effects they have together, the European
\nCommission warns. On the day the report was published in Brussels, in
\nBucharest, the Ministry of Justice launched a public debate on the proposals to
\namend the justice laws. They aim at strengthening the role of the Superior
\nCouncil of Magistracy in organizing and conducting competitions and examinations
\nthrough the National Institute of Magistracy and professionalizing the process
\nof selecting magistrates by eliminating any means of entering the judiciary
\nwithout competition. Also, the line ministry decided the elimination of the
\nearly retirement scheme for magistrates, the strengthening of the principle of prosecutor
\nimpendence in the judiciary and the dismantling of the Section for the
\nInvestigation of Crimes in the Judiciary.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Less
\noptimistic economic forecasts<\/strong> <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The European Bank for
\nReconstruction and Development has revised downwards its forecasts regarding
\nRomania’s economic evolution in 2020 and 2021, as a result of the crisis
\ntriggered by the pandemic. According to the latest forecasts, Romania’s economy
\nwould record a 5% drop this year, as to the 4% estimated in May. For 2021, EBRD
\nexpects a 3% expansion of Romania’s GDP, against a 4% growth forecast in
\nspring. Therefore, after a robust growth of 4.1% in 2019, Romania is facing
\nrecession in 2020. According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
\nthe key transmission channels are lower consumption and declining exports. (M. Ignatescu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A look at the main headline-making events this past week<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":124694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40944],"tags":[35374,29081,29053,35171,32970,30443,35416,42478,29346],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-124749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-week-in-review","tag-covid-19","tag-ebrd","tag-european-commission","tag-forecast","tag-magistracy","tag-national-liberal-party","tag-pandemic","tag-save-romania-plus-alliance","tag-social-democratic-party"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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