PSD Senator Laura-Michaela Moger submitted a draft law to the Senate that would allow civil servants running for public office to be members of “political party governing bodies and to publicly defend the positions of the political party.” “. if his official record is suspended for the duration of the election campaign or until the end of the relevant position, if he was elected or appointed, News.ro reports.

The legislative proposal, initiated by the PSD senator, changes par. (2) Art. 98 of Law No. 161/2003 regarding some measures to ensure transparency in the performance of public duties, state functions and in the business environment, prevention and punishment for corruption.

• “Civil servants are prohibited from being part of the governing bodies of political parties and from publicly expressing or defending the positions of the political party, except for cases when the civil servant is suspended from performing official duties on the basis of Art. 97”, the draft law states.

In the current version of the law, there is no such exception and para. (2) Art. 98 of the regulatory act stipulates that: “Civil servants are prohibited from joining the governing bodies of political parties and from publicly expressing or defending the positions of a political party.”

Article 97 of Law 161/2003, referred to by the PSD senator, in its current form provides that:

“(1) A public servant may apply for the relevant position or may be appointed to a public position.

(2) The official report of a civil servant shall be terminated:

a) during the election campaign until the next day after the election, if he is not elected;

b) until the termination of the corresponding position or position of public dignity, if the civil servant was elected or appointed.”

Moger motivates civil servants “they are exposed to potential abuse by the authorities”

“Even if a civil servant can claim or be appointed to a civil position in accordance with para. 1 Art. 97 of Law 161/2003, a situation in which the official report of a civil servant is suspended in accordance with the terms of par. 2 of the same article in accordance with the provisions of par. 2 Art. 98, he is prohibited from joining “the governing bodies of political parties and publicly defending the positions of the political party,” says Laura-Michaela Moger’s motivation for the draft law.

She also clarifies that “on the other hand, the National Integrity Agency (ANI) has concluded, based on a systematic interpretation of the accompanying legal provisions, that holding the status of a civil servant with a record of service suspended by law due to appointment or election to an honorary public office, simultaneously with holding in a leadership position in a political party, may create a situation of incompatibility from the point of view of the provisions of Art. 98 paragraph 2 of Law 161/2003”.

“Also, a civil servant whose official report is suspended during the election campaign and who is running for public office can easily be accused of expressing or publicly defending the position of the party that nominated him as a candidate during the election campaign. . Under such conditions, it is urgently necessary to make changes to the text of the law in para. 2 Art. 98 in order to exempt from the effect of this provision civil servants whose service has been suspended on the basis of Art. 97”, – the senator from PSD also claims in the statement on the motivation of the legislative initiative.

It also states that “in the absence of this specification, civil servants whose service reports are temporarily suspended and who hold positions of public dignity or are candidates for public office are subject to potential abuse by the authorities responsible for verifying the fulfillment of the requirements of the obligations stipulated in Law 161/2003, for which we propose to urgently adopt amendments.”

The bill was registered through the usual procedure in the Senate, the first forum mentioned, and the Chamber of Deputies takes a decision.