The MAI presents the security measures for the election campaign in the Capital. How the Electronic Identity Card can be issued

Monica Dajbog, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI), presented on Friday, November 21, the main measures taken in the context of the start of the electoral campaign for the partial local elections in December.

PHOTO: Reuters

The election campaign starts on November 22 and ends on December 6, one day before the elections.

We remind you that on December 7, partial local elections will be held for the General Mayor of the Capital, for the president of the Buzău County Council and for the mayors of 12 localities:

• the town of Găesti from Dâmbovița
• the communes of Marga from Caraș Severin,
• Remetea commune from Bihor,
• Mihai Eminescu commune from Botoșani,
• Dobromir and Lumina communes from Constanța,
• the commune of Sopot from Dolj,
• Vânători commune from Iasi,
• Valea Ciorii commune from Ialomita,
• Cârța commune from Sibiu,
• Poienile de sub Munte and Śieu communes in Maramureș.

According to the legal framework, the electoral campaign for partial local elections starts 15 days before the date of the elections, the MAI emphasizes.

During this period, the MAI is responsible for maintaining public order, with an emphasis on counties and localities where elections are held, ensuring the necessary measures for the safe conduct of electoral demonstrations and checking all reports of possible electoral incidents.

At the same time, MAI personnel ensure the security of ballots and other materials necessary for voting during the printing, manufacturing, transport and storage operations.

The MAI is also responsible for ensuring the protection measures at the headquarters of the electoral offices:

• The Electoral Office of Bucharest Municipality, the Electoral Office of Buzău County, the Constanța and Maramureș county electoral offices
• The sector electoral offices of the Municipality of Bucharest
• The Găesti urban constituency office
• and the 11 municipal constituency electoral offices.

The MAI says that it has experience in managing electoral campaigns and that it has taken all measures for their safe conduct. Complaints will be treated professionally and equidistantly, with the priority being compliance with the law.

MAI explains how the Electronic Identity Card can be issued

“Romanian citizens, who have reached the age of 18, by the day of the elections, and citizens of other member states of the European Union who have residence or domicile on the territory of our country can vote.

We remind you that, in order to vote, Romanian citizens need a valid identity document, such as – Electronic Identity Card, Simple Identity Card, Model 1997 Identity Card, Provisional Identity Card or Identity Bulletin. We recommend citizens who intend to vote to check if their document is valid, and if it is not, to request a new one”, transmit MAI.

The electronic identity card (CEI) can be issued in less than 10 days in the country, and for Bucharest we are talking about a shorter period, even 3 days.

The MAI announces that the application for the CEI can be submitted to any personal registration service, regardless of domicile, and the document can be picked up from any other chosen service.

Also, voters with an electronic card do not need to bring proof of domicile/residence: when the document is scanned, the address automatically appears in the electronic voting attendance monitoring system. All he has to do is present the document to the operator, as with the old bulletin.

The MAI announces that voting with the CEI is possible thanks to a data validation mechanism provided by STS, and the right to vote is exercised only in the place of residence or residence, provided that the residence is established at least 6 months before the election.

To support the citizens, the ministry has made informative videos about the electoral rules and the main prohibitions.

At the same time, the MAI warns against disinformation in the online environment, which is carried out through false messages, deepfakes and accounts imitating official websites, which aim to affect the integrity of the electoral process. Citizens are encouraged to remain vigilant and obtain information only from verified official sources.