BEC declares the clip filmed in Cotroceni with Nicușor Dan and Cătălin Drula illegal and demands its removal from social networks
The Electoral Office of the Municipality of Bucharest decided to remove from social networks the clip filmed in the Cotroceni Palace, in which Nicușor Dan, Cătălin Drula and Vlad Voiculescu appear.
Nicușor Dan and Cătălin Drula, at the USR candidate launch event. PHOTO: USR
The material was considered illegal, being appreciated as an electoral clip made in an institutional space of the state, with the involvement of the president in favor of a candidate.
The Bucharest Electoral Office decided to withdraw from the Internet the video recording made inside the Cotroceni Palace, in which the president Nicușor Dan, USR leader Cătălin Drula and MEP Vlad Voiculescu appear, official sources told stiripesource.ro.
The clip, originally distributed by Vlad Voiculescu and redistributed by the USR and the leaders of the formation, caused a wave of controversy, being considered an electoral material made in support of the USR candidate for the Capital City Hall.
The decision of the BEC comes in the context in which the filming was interpreted as a violation of both the Constitution and the legislation on the financing of electoral campaigns.
The appearance of the president in a politically used video was judged to be contrary to article 84 of the Constitution, which prohibits the involvement of the head of state in the activity of any party.
In addition, the use of the Cotroceni Palace – the seat of the Romanian Presidency – as a setting in an election material violates the regulations regarding the use of public resources in campaigns.
In the recording broadcast on social networks, Nicușor Dan, Cătălin Drula and Vlad Voiculescu discuss urbanism in the Capital and criticize PNL Bucharest for the alleged lack of support in the period 2020-2022 regarding the suspension of urban abuses.
The content was categorized by BEC as an electoral message, with a direct impact on the race for the Capital City Hall, where Cătălin Drula faces the liberal Ciprian Ciucu.
