Holding the elections to the European Parliament and local elections on the same date – June 9 – “has numerous advantages and can motivate citizens to go to the polls, ensuring greater representation of Romanian deputies in the European Parliament, strengthening Romania’s position in the European Union,” is the argument, which leads the government to decide to combine the two elections Another reason cited is to reduce costs and the period of elections.

On February 21, PSD and PNL agreed on the unification of the European and local parliaments and joint candidacies in the elections to the European Parliament. According to PSD and PNL calculations, the presidential elections will be postponed and will take place in September.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs published an emergency resolution, which envisages combining the elections to the European Parliament with local elections on June 9.

• The GEO text can be found here

How does the Government justify the combination of two types of elections

The PSD-PNL government justifies its decision to combine European parliamentary elections with local ones by saying that such an approach “has numerous advantages and can motivate citizens to go to the polls, ensuring greater representativeness of Romanian deputies in the European Parliament, strengthening Romania’s position in the European Union, sending a clear signal that it wants to adhere to the pro-European position and development projects of the Union for all administrative and territorial units.”

Other specified reasons:

• “Local elected officials can motivate citizens to show up at polling stations in greater numbers and express their choice.
• Costs and the electoral period are reduced, given that Romania will have 4 types of elections in 2024.
• At the level of the member states of the European Union, elections to the European Parliament are often held on the same day as local elections.
• The elections to the European Parliament in June 2024 will take place in a special context, as the political challenges facing the Union and its member states are significant.
• At the level of the member states of the European Union, European parliamentary elections are often held on the same date as local elections.

When the election campaign to the European Parliament and local elections begin

GEO provides:

• “Elections for Romanian members of the European Parliament in 2024 and for local government bodies in 2024 will be held on Sunday, June 9, 2024.
• The elections of members of the European Parliament from Romania in 2024 and elections to local public administration bodies in 2024, hereinafter collectively referred to as the elections of June 9, 2024, are organized in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 33/2007 on the organization and conduct of elections to the European Parliament, published with the following changes in accordance with Law no. 115/2015 on elections of local public administration bodies, on amendments to the Law on Local Public Administration No. 215/2001, as well as for amendments and additions to Law no. 393/2004 on the Statute of Local Elected Officials as amended and supplemented, except for the provisions of this emergency decree.
• The election period for the June 9, 2024 elections begins on March 12, 2024 and ends within 3 days of the publication of the election results in the Official Gazette of Romania (…).
• For the organization and conduct of election operations for the elections of June 9, 2024, the following are being created: Central Election Office, Election Office for Polling Stations Abroad, County Election Offices, Bucharest Municipality Electoral District, Municipal Electoral District Electoral Offices, City and Municipal, District Electoral Offices of Municipality Sectors Bucharest and election offices of polling stations in the country and abroad.

The Central Election Bureau consists of 21 members, namely:

• a) 7 judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, including the chairman and deputy;
• b) the president and vice-presidents of the Permanent Electoral Body;
• c) members proposed by political parties and public organizations belonging to national minorities who received mandates in the elections of members from Romania to the European Parliament in 2019;
• d) members proposed by parliamentary political parties and organizations of citizens belonging to national minorities who had their own deputy group in at least one of the chambers of the Parliament on the day of its creation following the elections to the Senate and the Chamber. deputies in 2020;
• e) a member appointed on the basis of the proposal of the deputy group of national minorities in the Chamber of Deputies;
• f) members proposed by political parties participating in the elections on June 9, 2024, except for those provided for in letter c), d) and e)”.

Voting starts at 07:00 and ends at 22:00

• (1) For the election on June 9, 2024, voting begins at 07:00 and ends at 22:00.
• (2) At 10:00 p.m., the chairman of the precinct election commission declares voting closed and issues an order to close the polling station.
• (3) At 10 p.m., a special ballot box must be in the premises of the polling station.
• (4) Voters who are at the polling station at 10:00 p.m., as well as those who are standing in line at the polling station to enter the polling station, may exercise their right to vote under the state of emergency of this ordinance.
• (5) Voters in the cases provided for in para. (4) they can vote no later than 23.59.
• (6) 2 members appointed by the precinct election commission check at 10:00 p.m. whether there are voters outside the premises of the polling station who are waiting to exercise their right to vote, and also find out and control the order in which they have access to the polling station until 23:59.
• Only one special box will be used for the June 9, 2024 election. The special ballot box is moved only within the territorial radius of the relevant polling station.
• If the voter is at his place of residence or residence, but cannot come to the polling station, he can vote using a special ballot box based on the application submitted at the polling station where he passed. is the district, at the place of residence or residence, as the case may be, for the elections of the Members of Romania in the European Parliament, for the local elections or for both elections organized on 9 June 2024.
• If the voter is in another settlement, depending on the circumstances, he can vote using a special ballot box based on the application submitted at the nearest polling station. where he or she is located, only for the elections of Romanian members of the European Parliament from 2024.
• A special box is not used at polling stations abroad.

How will the voting take place?

• “(1) In the elections of June 9, 2024, at polling stations in the country, voters shall vote at the same polling stations, at the same time interval, with the same stamps with the word “VOTE” in separate ballots. , turnout for voting entered into separate voter lists for two types of voting.
• (2) In the situation provided for in para. (1) voters can exercise their right to vote only for one type of ballot or for both ballots.
• (3) If a voter who came to vote at a polling station in the country decided to participate in one type of voting, the head of the election commission of the polling station or a member appointed by him prohibits in the presence of the voter a horizontal line of the column for signature in the permanent electoral list refers to the type of ballot that he didn’t choose
• (4) In the situation provided for in para. (1) the voter’s card shall be stamped once with the inscription “VOTE” and the date of voting or, depending on the circumstances, one stamp with the inscription “VOTE” and the date of voting. voting, according to the approved model.
• (5) In the situation provided for in para. (1), in the voter’s electronic card, as provided by the Government Resolution No. 295/2021 on the approval of Methodological norms for the uniform application of the provisions of the Emergency Government Resolution No. 97/2005 regarding the registration, place of residence, place of residence and identity documents of Romanian citizens, as well as to establish the form and content of identity documents, proof of residence and property registration, the stamp with the inscription “VOTE” and the date did not apply to elections.
• (6) In the situation provided for in para. (1), mayors will provide boxes for each type of ballot.
• (7) At polling stations organized abroad, only additional lists of voters are used, which are formed in electronic format automatically on the basis of data recorded on computer terminals as part of the IT system for monitoring election turnout and preventing illegal voting.
• (8) In the event of a malfunction of the information system for monitoring turnout at polling stations and preventing illegal voting, additional lists of voters from abroad are drawn up on paper and include columns for the voter’s first and last name, personal digital code, place of residence or place of residence, as well as his signature .