The government and AEP, sued for the non -organization of elections at the Capital City Hall. The applicants' arguments

The government and permanent electoral authority (AEP) were sued because they did not organize, within the legal term of 90 days, elections for the General City Hall of Bucharest, remaining vacant after Nicușor Dan was elected president of Romania. The applicants ask the court to oblige the executive to issue immediately the decision to organize the election and to ascertain the illegality of the authorities' passivity, according to news.ro.

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The applicants – Alexandru Pânișoara, Florin Alexandru Dumitrescu, Dan Podaru and the Association of Urbanism Law – filed the action at the Bucharest Court of Appeal. They ask the court to oblige the Government to immediately issue the decision regarding the organization of the elections for the General City Hall and for the AEP to initiate the necessary legal procedures, including the formulation of the proposal regarding the date of the elections.

In the application submitted, the applicants also request the application of a comminatory fine provided by art. 24 para. (2) of Law no. 554/2004 for each day of delay in fulfilling the obligations of the authorities, as well as the payment of the costs, invoking the unjustified refusal to organize the election from May 26, 2025, when the mandate of Nicușor Dan ceased.

The applicants' arguments

According to the applicants, with the issuance of the Order of the Prefect of the Municipality of Bucharest, which found the termination of the mayor of the general, the position became vacant. They claim that, according to art. 160 para. (11) of the Administrative Code, the Government had the express obligation to establish the date of the elections within a maximum of 90 days.

“Although the term is imperative, the government has chosen silence, and the permanent electoral authority did not formulate the legal proposal to trigger the elections. The interim mandate of the deputy mayor has exceeded the legal term, turning into a state without democratic legitimacy, a state of anomie”, It is shown in the request for a trial.

The applicants also claim that this passivity is not only a violation of the law, but also a denial of the political will of the citizens: “It is an administrative silence that abusively suspends the exercise of one of the most sacred rights: to choose and to be chosen. The lack of a reaction from the central public authorities is equivalent to a blocking of the democratic process, directly affecting the order of law and the principle of popular sovereignty.“

Legal aspects and implications for democracy

The applicants invoke the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (Matthews v. The United Kingdom, Podkolzina v. Latvia, Tanase v. Moldova), according to which the right to free elections implies the positive action of the authorities to ensure its effectiveness. Failure to comply with the legal term for organizing elections is equivalent to a direct interference in the substance of the voting right.

The plaintiffs also emphasize that the principle of legality and strict character of the public law norms require a restrictive interpretation of the competences of the authorities: “Where the law distinguishes, it cannot be interpreted by analogy; and where the law imposes a term, the executive power cannot claim the freedom to ignore it. The passivity of the authorities in issuing compulsory legal acts is an unjustified, susceptible refusal.”

They also specify that the refusal of the Government and the AEP of exercising their duties is a tacit refusal to apply the law, contrary to the principles of the rule of law and constitutional democracy. This action in court is not considered a simple legal formality, but an approach to restore the democratic order and respect for the law.

The profile of the applicants

• Alexandru Pânișoara – President of the Association Law of Urbanism, initiator of several actions in court against Nicușor Dan and his administration. He ran for the Capital City Hall in 2024 from the Ecological Party.
• Dan Podaru – former PNL local councilor in Sector 1, resigning in January 2024. He opened the list per parliament in the capital and criticized the political management of Clotilda Armand.
• Florin Alexandru Dumitrescu – former PNL general counselor between 2016 and 2020.

The applicants ask the court to ascertain the illegality of the government's passivity and to oblige the authorities to organize the elections for the position of general mayor.

The consequences of non -organization of elections

According to the applicants, the interim mandate of the deputy mayor, extended beyond the legal term, affects the democratic legitimacy of the administration and the validity of the administrative acts issued after the term of 90 days. This, they say, are equivalent to an abusive suspension of the right of citizens to choose and be elected, violating the principle of popular sovereignty and the order of law.