USR, PMP, Forța Dreptei appealed to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) the decision of the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) to refuse the registration of the United Right Alliance based on another decision in a similar case of the Supreme Court, starting in 2019, when on the first stage BEC rejected the registration of the USR-PLUS alliance.

On Sunday, the Central Election Bureau refused to register the United Right Alliance on the grounds that Yevhen Tomak is not listed as the president of the PMP in the party register.

In 2019, the Central Election Bureau refused to register the USR-PLUS Alliance for a similar reason, namely because Dan Barna was not listed in the party register as USR president.

The leaders of the two cases claim that the cases are similar.

More specifically, the 2019 ICCJ judgment states that the law governing the organization of elections does not require the signatories of the Alliance protocol to appear in the party register as presidents, so it is important that they are authorized in this sense through governing bodies.

In the case of the USR-PMP-Forța Dreptei alliance, the PMP National Council authorized Yevgeny Tomak, at the suggestion of the National Executive Council, to represent the party in relation to the other two formations.

According to the PMP statute, the National Collegium is “the governing body and political coordination of the People’s Movement Party at the national level, a function it performs between party congresses.”

In addition, in a 2019 decision, the Supreme Court referred to the decision of the Bucharest Court, which was not final, on the registration of Dan Barna in the party register as president of the USR, the court recognized that the decision “is provisionally valid”.

In the current case, there is a decision of the Bucharest Court, in which it was required to “register in the Register of Political Parties documents certifying the holding of the Congress of the People’s Movement Party on February 19, 2022.” It is about the Congress at which Yevgeny Tomak was elected president of the PMP. In the meantime, however, the decision was appealed, and last year the Court of Appeal decided to re-examine the case.

Meanwhile, Eugene Tomac was reconfirmed as president at the 2023 PMP special convention. And this convention is the subject of his lawsuit. However, according to the decision of the Bucharest Court, from February of this year, the decisions of the Congress must be sent to the register of political parties. Even if the decision was appealed and is pending in the Court of Appeal, the leaders of the Alliance claim that it is enforceable in the sense of making changes to the register of political parties.

Excerpt from the 2019 ICCJ decision:

Drula: “The future of democracy now rests on their shoulders”

The United Rightists filed an appeal to the High Court of Cassation on Monday against the Central Election Bureau’s decision to withdraw from the Alliance, USR President Katelin Drula said.

“I filed an appeal to the ICCJ against the decision on the refusal of the United Right Alliance. The BEC vote, at PSD’s request, is anti-democratic and aims to exclude the opposition from voting. In 24 hours, the judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice will issue a verdict. The future of democracy now rests on their shoulders,” Drula wrote on Facebook.

“We experienced a similar attempt in 2019, when Liviu Dragnia tried to remove USR from the ballot. Then I won the ICCJ. We continue the fight for a modern Romania, despite the blockade by PSD and PNL,” he added.

The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) rejected the protocol for the establishment of the United Right Alliance formed by USR, PMP and Forța Dreptei, Katalin Drula reported on Sunday.

Lawyer Viorel Mocanu, the representative of the PSD in the BEC, would be the one who asked to reject the protocol on the establishment of the United Right Alliance (ADU).

Marcel Cholaku denied any interference in the decision of the Central Election Bureau to reject the protocol on the creation of the Alliance, claiming that he does not even know the names of the judges.