“Until now I haven't had time to answer publicly.” How the head of the DNA, Marius Voineag, explains that he wants a deputy position
Accused in the public space of running for the head of the General Prosecutor's Office in tandem with the head of the DNA Iași, Cristina Chiriac, in order to lead the institution from the shadows, the current head of the DNA, Marius Voineag, explained on Thursday during the interview at the CSM why he no longer wants “a number one position”.
CSM prosecutor Emilia Ion is the one who asked Marius Voineag on Thursday and Alex Florentă, the current general prosecutor of Romania, on Wednesday, why they no longer want to lead the two institutions, given that they both considered that they had two successful mandates.
If Alex Florenta is now aiming for the position of deputy chief prosecutor of DIICOT, Marius Voineag applied for and obtained the nomination for the position of deputy general prosecutor of Romania, where his subordinate from DNA Iași, Cristina Chiriac, was proposed. In the public space, Voineag was accused of actually wanting to run the General Prosecutor's Office from the shadows.
“It was a personal decision”
“Reading your project, I realized, as I told another candidate, that this project could very well be the project of a candidate for the position of prosecutor general or, rather, for chief DNA prosecutor. My question is, returning to the motivation, why are you running for the position of prosecutor general then and not for that of DNA chief prosecutor or general prosecutor?”, asked CSM prosecutor Emilia Ion.
“It's a question I want to answer, until now I haven't had time to answer publicly. It was a personal decision, but it was not an easy one at all. DNA is an institution to which I have dedicated a lot of my time both professionally and personally. When I ran for office in 2023, and I think I said it in front of you and received your trust at that time, I ran with the hope that we will no longer have figures who confiscate the image of an institution. Institutions must work on the basis of some systems, some procedures and a management team”, argued Voineag before the Section for Prosecutors of the CSM.
“Erosion in Position”
The head of the DNA claimed that he is a “man of law and efficiency, less a man of spectacle or public conflicts”.
He said again that, in his opinion, he had mostly achieved the goals he set for himself in 2023, and he blamed his departure from the institution on “erosion”.
“Erosion in the position is definitely one of the elements that weighed on my personal decision not to run for the position of number one. (..) There is a big difference between running for the number one position and going as a support, how do you go as a deputy general prosecutor. To be a little direct, I really like the construction phases. I think that, based on the experience I have accumulated, I can be a real support for anyone who would occupy the position of general prosecutor of Romania at the moment. That doesn't mean it's easy for me to leave,” added Voineag.
Marius Voineag, without approval from the CSM. Voting block. What's next
The section for prosecutors of the CSM must give a reasoned advisory opinion for the candidates for the head of the grand prosecutor's offices. In the case of Marius Voineag and the current general prosecutor Alex Florenta, a candidate for a deputy position at DIICOT, the prosecutors of the SCM failed to agree on the issuance of the opinion. There was deadlock in the vote – 3 to 3 – both in the case of Voineag and in the case of Florence.
Under these conditions, only the voting must be resumed in a future meeting of the Section for Prosecutors of the SCM, not the entire procedure.
The equality of votes, in the case of prosecutors Marius Voineag and Alex Florenta, is unprecedented.
The CSM regulation has no provisions for such situations, so the vote will resume during the 30 days, the deadline until which the forum can communicate the opinion, sources from the CSM told HotNews.
“If the situation of equality is maintained within the 30-day period, the Ministry of Justice could assimilate voting parity with the lack of advisory opinion and send the proposals to the president without this opinion”, explained CSM sources.
The section for prosecutors of the CSM issues a reasoned advisory opinion, after which these proposals are submitted to Nicuşor Dan. The president has the final say in the appointment of prosecutors to head the grand prosecutor's offices.
