Initially scheduled for June, but postponed
\nbecause of the crisis triggered by the new coronavirus, local elections in
\nRomania will be held in only one round, on September 27th. In the
\nmeantime, the mayors’ terms have been extended by half a year, and authorities
\nhave focused on implementing measures aimed at curbing the spread of the new
\ncoronavirus. Therefore, elections this year are to be held under the sign of
\nthe new disease, and it will the first time that both the election campaign,
\nwhich starts on Friday, and the elections as such, are held under special
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
President Klaus Ioahnnis has called on all the
\ncandidates, but also voters, to observe the sanitary protection measures in
\nplace, so that the elections can be held safely. Before the start of the
\nelection campaign, the head of state insisted that it’s essential for everyone
\nto do everything in their power to protect democracy during this period. This is
\npossible, the head of state stressed, if we all follow a set of rules and measures
\ndesigned to ensure an optimal framework for carrying out electoral actions
\nunder special conditions. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The president recalled that
\nprecedents exist and there are countries that have organized several types of
\nelections during the pandemic, without this having subsequently had a negative
\nimpact on the number of infections. Klaus Iohannis addressed candidates in
\nparticular, urging them not to expose people to the danger of infection, because,
\nhe said, no electoral goal is more important than health, and any violation of
\nthe rules will have to be drastically sanctioned. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
However, the head of state has acknowledged that
\na zero-risk scenario does not exit, but, if all special measures are
\nunderstood, mastered and applied by both organizers and citizens, the risk can
\nbe minimized. Elections are the foundation of democracy. Even if we live in
\none of the most complicated times in Romania’s recent history, democracy cannot
\nbe suspended or placed between the brackets, because it guarantees us all the
\nrights and freedoms that we enjoy, the head of state stressed. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The election campaign starts on Friday, and
\ncompetition is fierce, especially in the capital and in the big cities, and the
\npoliticians make calculations and think of strategies to attract as
\nmany votes as possible and thus reach their goals. They are competing for 41
\noffices of county council president, more than 1,300 county councilor and
\n40,000 local councilor seats, and approximately 3,200 mayoral positions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The most
\nimportant battle is for the seat of mayor of Bucharest, where there are no less
\nthan 18 candidates, four of whom are independent. The favourites are the
\ncurrent Social Democrat mayor Gabriela Firea and Nicusor Dan, an independent candidate
\nsupported by the governing National Liberal Party and USR-PLUS. (M. Ignatescu)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Local elections in Romania, due on September 27th, will be held under very special conditions this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":86390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-86526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n