​Liviu George Maha was elected as the new rector of the Alexander Ioan Kuza University of Iasi (UAIC) in the second round of elections for the post held on Monday, ahead of the current rector, Tudorel Toader, with 487 votes to 233. The former Minister of Justice during the time when PSD led by Liviu Dragnia accuses the election campaign, “full of promises, intimidation, lies, even threats, of taking over the management of the university by those who believe it is their right, although they have proven the opposite”: “I have a feeling of a ‘Terrible coalition!’ .

• According to Ziarul de Iași, within 12 hours of voting, 741 voters (which was 87.7%) out of 844 who had the right to vote, showed up at the UAIC polling stations (university professors, as well as academics and student representatives). in management structures, faculty councils and the Senate). Liviu Mach got 487 of them and Tudorel Toader got 233 votes. 19 votes were annulled and two ballots were blank.

​Liviu Macha is Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEAA) at UAIC.

Tudorel Toader, who has been the head of the Oleksandr Ioan Kuza University of Iasi since 2016, ran for a third term. Toader was Minister of Justice in the Grindian, Tudos and Denčile governments from February 2017 to April 2019, during a period when the PSD was led by Liviu Dragnea and the PSD-ALDE coalition was trying to make damaging changes to justice laws.

Tudorel Toader accuses campaign “full of promises, intimidation, lies, threats”

Tudorel Toader, who has been chancellor for 8 years, responded with a Facebook post in which he claimed it was “an election campaign not typical of academia, full of promises, intimidation, lies, even threats, all to seize the power of the university administration by those who who thinks they deserve it, even though they’ve proven otherwise.”

• “I took over the leadership of a university divided into rich faculties and poor faculties, with tens of millions of debts to banks, where hourly activities were not paid or paid at 1 lei, and some historic buildings were closed. due to degradation, some resorts seem abandoned.
• We created an Interdisciplinary Research Institute, we supported scientific research, we paid from the UAIC’s own funds for scientific research published in ISI-indexed journals, we fulfilled all promotion proposals, we paid off debts to banks, and now the University has a significant financial surplus , we restored the university building, the astronomical observatory, the library Body O, Body E, the resort in Ştefăneşti with European funds or from the National Investment Company, we completed all levels of pre-university training, the transfer of kindergarten and primary school from paid to budget. We initiated the construction of a sports complex, the renovation of a sports hall, the construction of a dormitory, etc., says Tudorel Toader.

He says he regrets the support and trust “given to some with parallel agendas, with great pride and lack of character.”

• “In an environment where accomplishments didn’t matter, facts didn’t matter, calculations, agreements, and commitments mattered, I get a sense of ‘The Horrible Coalition!'” Tudorel Toader accuses, saying that he will continue to be yours a teacher and a lawyer.

New Rector Liviu Macha: “The fact that so many came to vote confirms that there is unity”

Liviu George Maha, the new chancellor of the Alexander Ioan Kousa University in Iasi, says that such a large number of votes also shows legitimacy, but at the same time it means responsibility, as many of his colleagues have shown their confidence in the program he proposed.

• “I am happy, it was a long, intense competition. There were many candidates, there were different programs, there were debates, ideas, visions.
• It was indeed a sustainable and valuable campaign, as I was convinced after the first round.
• As a result, the harder and sharper the competition, the more joy. So it’s okay to be happy. The results in a certain way testify to the equal involvement of colleagues. The turnout in the elections was higher than in the first round. A few votes, but still important to mention. (…)
• The fact that so many came to vote shows that there is unity, the concentration of colleagues on what means, so to speak, a change of vision that will bring more good to our university.
• Such a large number of votes also shows legitimacy, it is true, but at the same time it means responsibility, because many colleagues expressed their trust in the proposed program, in the message that I sent, in my candidacy, and as a result It is also a very big responsibility that I carry”, declared Liviu Macha. Such a large number of votes also shows legitimacy, it is true, but at the same time it means responsibility, because many colleagues expressed their trust in the proposed program, in the message I sent, in my candidacy, and as a result, this is also a very big responsibility that I bear,” Makha said, Yassska Gazeta reports.

The president of the electoral bureau, close to Tudorel Toader, resigned a day before the election

And on March 12, when the first round of elections for the head of the university took place, Professor Dr. Liviu Maha came first with 222 votes, followed by Tudorel Toader who got 190 votes.

The second round of elections took place in a tense atmosphere. A day ago, the president of the Electoral Bureau of the UAIC, Olga Andreja Urda, announced that she was resigning from her position, accusing a smear campaign against her, reports Ziarul de Iasi.

Olga Andreja Urda is considered to be a close relative of Tudorel Toader, and sources from the university clarified that in this way the group around Tudorel Toader tried to postpone the second round of voting, writes News.ro. Finally, a new President of the Electoral Bureau was urgently appointed so that Monday’s election could take place.

The university elections, through which academic communities choose their leadership, which in some universities started already at the end of 2023, did not bring changes when we talk about the positions of rectors, the most important position in any university. In the case of four universities (from Alba Iulia, Timisoara, Brasov and Tirgu Mures), the current rectors were elected for a fourth term.

• Who are the rectors who managed to lead some universities for a fourth term