PSD, PUSL and AUR general councilors could lose their mandates, after three boycotted meetings. The Prefect of the Capital: “We are already there”

PSD, PUSL and AUR councilors could be left without mandates, after they were absent from three meetings of the General Council without reason, announced the prefect of the Capital, Andrei Nistor, in a statement given to “Adevărul”. However, for the Prefecture to be able to decide on the termination of mandates, a referral is needed from the General Council, where Ciprian Ciucu has only a theoretical majority.

Meeting of the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest, February 26, 2026. PHOTO: Inquam Photos

The struggle for power in the General Council started immediately after the election of Ciprian Ciucu as mayor of the Capital. Euphorically, the new mayor then conveyed to the citizens of Bucharest that he wants a solid majority, on the model of the governing coalition, of which PSD, PNL will be part.

The first meeting after the validation of the mandate represented an awakening to reality for Ciucu. An ad-hoc alliance formed by PSD, AUR, PUSL and PMP councilors blocked, by abstaining, several important projects on the agenda, including the increase in tariffs charged by the Bucharest Transport Company. USR voted with the liberals, as did REPER. The surprise, however, came from the PMP advisors. Although immediately after the elections they promised support to Ciprian Ciucu, at the vote they joined the “opposition” formed by PSD, AUR and PUSL.

Later, Ciprian Ciucu agreed to support PMP, in exchange for the appointment of Ștefan Florescu as public administrator of Sector 6. With the votes of the three councilors of the formation established by Traian Băsescu, the mayor would reach 28 councilors out of a total of 55, a fragile majority, ensured at the limit, with only one vote above the required threshold. This is only in theory because REPER is not in full formula. After the death of councilor Cezar Cobianu in January, the General Council did not validate the mandate of Georgiana Diță.

The first blockage

The first attempt took place on February 16, in an extraordinary meeting of the General Council. Then, the project regarding the validation of the REPER councilor's mandate was introduced on the agenda alongside an initiative aimed at submitting the candidacy of the municipality of Bucharest for the Forum of Cities. The meeting did not meet the necessary quorum, after PSD, PUSL and AUR councilors were absent.

A day later, Ciprian Ciucu convened the CGMB meeting again, but withdrew from the agenda the project regarding the validation of the mandate. This time, the opposition councilors secured the quorum, and the project remaining on the agenda was adopted.

On February 24, the PSD and PUSL councilors convened, in turn, an extraordinary meeting of the General Council, on the agenda of which were two projects promoted by the PSD Bucharest leader, Daniel Băluță. The first initiative provides for the reduction of the amounts paid by Bucharest residents when hot water and thermal energy are not delivered at the temperatures stipulated in the contract. The second concerned the postponement of the transfer of several streets from the City Hall of Sector 4 to the City Hall of the Capital, after PMB had previously ceded them for carrying out some modernization works. In the end, the meeting did not take place, as the City Hall had not drawn up the specialized reports.

“We have to do justice, and there is no way we can do justice with such people who block initiatives of this kind. Hot water is for everyone, regardless of whether they vote or not, regardless of whether they are from the right or the left. As of today, this building of the Capital City Hall has turned into > Ciprian Ciucu. We will not give in. Tomorrow we will convene another meeting, on the same topic.” said Daniel Baluta.

Băluță announced that the PSD will file criminal complaints for abuse of office on behalf of the members of the city hall apparatus who did not take the steps for the project to reach the vote, accusing them of forming an “organized criminal group led by the mayor general Ciprian Ciucu”. In reply, the secretary of the Bucharest municipality, Georgiana Zamfir, replied to Băluță that she “respected the legal procedures exactly”.

As “Adevărul” previously explained, the initiative does not bring major changes, given that even now Termoenergetica is obliged to grant compensation for the delivery of the thermal agent below the contractual parameters. The only novelty would be the updating of the supply diagrams, which would be carried out following some studies.

The second blockage

Two days later, Ciprian Ciucu convened a new ordinary meeting of the General Council, and the project regarding the validation of Georgiana Diță's mandate was first on the agenda. Even this time the meeting could not take place due to lack of quorum, after PSD, PUSL and AUR councilors were absent.

REPER notified the Prefecture.

“What is happening today is an obvious attempt to divert the will expressed by the vote. It is already the fourth meeting in which our colleague is not allowed to take the oath. The repeated delay of her investiture has no legal justification, it is simply a blocking of a legitimate mandate. We are not talking about a procedure, but a right. It is the right of our colleague, elected by the citizens of Bucharest, to exercise her mandate, validated by court, which the PSD, AUR and PUSL councilors are trying to block. They have no respect for the letter and spirit of the law, nor for the citizens of Bucharest, and prefer to boycott the meetings”said Ana-Maria Boghean, general councilor and co-president of REPER Bucharest, according to a press release from the party.

The third blockage

The scenario was repeated on March 6, when the councilors of the same three formations were absent from the meeting.

“It is the third time that the General Council cannot meet, in an extremely difficult situation for Bucharest. The irresponsibility of the PSD is incredible. I expect some very bad rates this month, that the money that comes from the budget, what we have to cover from a budgetary point of view, and at least one of the decisions would have helped us a lot to take the pressure we feel at the moment, because of the budget”said the capital's mayor, Ciprian Ciucu.

PSD, PUSL and AUR councilors could lose their mandates

Contacted by “Adevărul” to clarify the situation, the prefect of the Capital, Andrei Nistor, stated that, according to the Administrative Code of Romania, PSD, PUSL and AUR councilors should lose their mandates, given that they were absent from three Council meetings without reason. However, the official emphasizes that the Prefecture cannot self-report, as a decision of the General Council is necessary in this regard.

“There are already three meetings (ed. – where they were absent without reason). We are talking about the loss of the mandates, individually, of the councilors who were absent. Because of this, it was not possible to meet a quorum. From my point of view, we are already there, only we are not the ones who have the powers to report this. The whole City Council should be notified, in a City Council meeting. This is not why they were elected, to be absent. Of course, they can challenge”Andrei Nistor declared for “Adevărul”.

Indeed, according to Article 204 of the Administrative Code, the unprovoked absence from 3 meetings of the Council convened for a period of 3 months, which for this reason cannot be held, leads to the loss of the mandate.

“Unreasonable absence from 3 council meetings, convened for a period of 3 calendar months, which determines the impossibility of holding, under the law, ordinary and/or extraordinary meetings”, states letter “e” of Article 204 of the Administrative Code.

Contacted by “Adevărul”, the PSD vice-mayor, Adrian Vigheciu, rejected this interpretation, claiming that the elected social-democrats are not in such a situation, since not even three months have passed since the validation of Ciprian Ciucu's mandate as general mayor.

PSD and PUSL councilors convened a new extraordinary meeting for Tuesday, March 10, but it was postponed to Friday, March 13. On the agenda are the two initiatives previously promoted by the PSD, as well as the validation of Georgiana Diță's mandate.

Contacted by “Adevărul”, Ciprian Ciucu refused to comment.