Second round of Romania’s presidential elections under debate
Measures decided following talks between members of Romania’s Central Election Bureau (BEC) and the country’s Foreign Ministry (MAE) officials will receive the logistical and financial support of the government, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Monday. BEC members and MAE officials are expected to discuss on Tuesday means designed to ensure a sustainable election process in the presidential runoff on November 16. „A Romanian citizen wherever he is should be able to exercise his voting rights. I express my commitment to ensure that such measures would allow every single citizen to exercise his constitutional right”, Mr. Ponta pointed out. The measures would improve the voting abroad where Romanian nationals spent hours queuing outside polling stations in the first round of the presidential elections last Sunday.
Constitutional Court to rule on presidential runoff
Romania’s Constitutional Court is expected to read its verdict on Friday following the first round of the presidential elections last Sunday. At a meeting on Wednesday, the court will consider the complaints of three Romanian nationals who called for the elections to be declared invalid. Other complaints and evidence could be submitted in three days. The court is supposed to invalidate the elections when proved fraud could lead to a wrong presidential candidate or candidates expected to perform in the runoff were changed.
Many Romanians were prevented from voting, APADOR-CH claims
Many Romanian nationals were prevented from exercising their voting rights due to a written pledge they had to sign against multiple voting. As multiple voting is already seen as a crime in the country’s Penal Code such pledges should be excluded as they were an absolute red tape nonsense, the Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania – The Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH) said in a statement on Tuesday. APADOR-CH calls on the government to remove Art. 44 in the Presidential Elections’ Law 370/2004 stipulating such affidavit.
Future BNR policy
Romania’s National Bank (BNR) decided to lower its key interest rate from 3 to 2.75 percent this year confirming analysts’ estimates. BNR also cut the minimum reserve requirements ratio on foreign currency-denomiated liabilities from 16 to 14 percent. Most international analysts expected the cuts. They say investors will be watching closely to see if changes lead to looser monetary policy.
Danga Alexandru
