The Liberals are waiting for an answer from the coalition partners, PSD and UDMR, regarding the unification of parliamentary and local elections in 2024. Government sources told Hotnews.ro that the PNL put forward the proposal in the coalition, but the PSD avoided a clear answer, while the UDMR disagreed.

The bet of the liberals is to preserve the number of mandates both at the parliamentary and local levels. In this way, the PNL could protect its mayors from the recall and pressure that the Social Democrats could exert when they took over the government.

In addition, a scenario was discussed at the PNL leadership level, as well as at the PSD, in which the two parties would remain governing partners after 2024, when the Social Democrats and Liberals would share the head of government and the presidency.

Beyond the scenarios, the political calculation of the PNL is that, with the support of Klaus Iohannis, the liberals have a chance to appoint a prime minister regardless of the number of seats won in 2024.

According to HotNews.ro sources, it was the PSD that proposed to Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke at a coalition meeting to combine local and parliamentary elections, but the PNL then refused.

The idea of ​​combining two rounds of voting is difficult to apply by law, since the two types of powers, respectively, the mayor and the deputy, expire in different periods. Specifically, the difference between the two types of functions is two and a half months. Local elections were held on September 27, 2020, and parliamentary elections on December 6, 2020.

In order for two rounds to be held simultaneously, there is a need to make changes to the electoral legislation and a good reason to explain the need to extend the mayor’s powers contrary to the right granted to the voter by the Constitution.

In addition, there is a decision of the Constitutional Court from 2012, which says that holding two types of elections on the same day may cause difficulties for voters due to the large number of ballots, and therefore difficulties in the implementation of the constitutional right, which may lead to a fence, its limitations.

The Liberals want to, but have no concrete decision to put it into law. According to HotNews.ro sources, Chuke’s government would like to combine the two types of elections, taking over the responsibility of the government.

Asked by HotNews.ro what the motivation of this government act would be, the liberals could not give a concrete solution. “Lawyers will definitely find a way out,” it was explained.

Bock tried, CCR said no. As much as he wanted too

The idea of ​​combining local and parliamentary elections is not new, but has already been proposed by two prime ministers. Not earlier than March 2022, Florin Sitsu launched this idea, which remained only at the declaration stage without specific changes in legislation.

• Cîțu wants the unification of local and parliamentary elections in 2024. The KKR decision says that it cannot be a DOCUMENT

Also in 2012, Emil Bock proposed and, as Prime Minister, assumed responsibility for the government to hold local and parliamentary elections on the same date. The assumption of responsibility was appealed to the Constitutional Court.

It should be noted that at that time the judges of the KKR recognized the unconstitutional approach to combining the two types of elections. The judges noted that the extension of the powers of mayors until the expiration of their own powers of deputies (a difference of about 3 months) contradicts the Constitution.

They also argued that the large number of ballots, 6 to be exact, could cause difficulties in exercising the right to vote, which could ultimately lead to the restriction of that right.

Regarding the motivation for reducing costs, the Constitutional Court noted that “they cannot be considered as arguments that support, under any conditions, restrictions on the exercise of certain rights or freedoms or support measures that may affect the fundamental principles of the state” correctly.

The KKR also established that the combination of local and parliamentary elections leads to a violation of the right to be elected, since a person cannot simultaneously run for the position of mayor and for a deputy or senatorial mandate, as well as for the position of president. district council and on the mandate of a deputy or senator. (full text of the decision of the Constitutional Court HERE)