The government ignores the legal deadline for organizing the elections in Sector 6: “It can be postponed indefinitely. The explanations of the Prefect of the Capital
District 6 risks being administered by an interim mayor, not elected by direct vote, until the end of 2028. Although the law stipulates that by-elections must be organized within 90 days of the final decision to vacate the mayor's office, this legal calendar has been exceeded since April.
Ciprian Ciucu, Ilie Bolojan and Paul Moldovan. PHOTO: Facebook
In the case of the resignation of a mayor, the Administrative Code provides that the mandate ceases by law, and the vacancy of the position is ascertained by order of the prefect. After this stage, the Government sets the date of the partial elections, which must be organized within 90 days at the most from the definitive stay of the vacation situation.
In this case, Ciprian Ciucu resigned from the position of mayor of Sector 6 to take up that of general mayor at the end of last year, and the position was declared vacant by order of the prefect issued on January 5. In relation to the legal term of 10 days in which this act could be contested, it follows that the Government should have adopted the decision regarding the organization of the elections on April 15 at the latest. Currently, Sector 6 is administered by PNL vice-mayor Paul Moldovan.
The Prefect of the Capital: “The law does not provide for any sanction”
The Prefect of the Capital, Andrei Nistor, stated for Adevărul that the institution he leads has gone through all the necessary administrative steps, but his duties stop there. He points out that the legal deadline for organizing elections is 90 days and specifies that he has informed all the competent institutions about the vacancy, proceeding similarly in the case of the General City Hall.
At the same time, the prefect observes, from a strictly legal perspective, that the legislation does not provide for sanctions in the situation where the Executive does not initiate the organization of elections, and the political context and governmental instability significantly reduce the chances of a quick solution.
“The legal term is 90 days, if I remember correctly. We have made all the necessary information, but beyond this, we cannot do anything. There is an obligation to organize elections, but the law does not provide for any sanction if this does not happen. In the case of the Capital City Hall, we did the same. I informed the competent institutions that the post has become vacant and that elections must be held. I do not want to rule on the moral aspect of the situation, but strictly on the interpretation of the law. Until At the moment, we have not received any signal that elections will be held. Given the uncertain situation at the government level, it is difficult to believe that this issue will be addressed in the immediate future. Elections should be held until then, with full powers.” stated Andrei Nistor for “Adevărul”.
Septimius Pârvu: “This practice of successive postponements is harmful to democracy”
Septimius Pârvu, specialist in good governance and electoral processes at the Expert Forum, believes that this practice of successive postponements is deeply harmful to democracy and emphasizes that legal deadlines should be strictly respected, regardless of the political configuration
“Unfortunately, we are in a situation that has also existed in recent years, in which the organization of partial elections has been postponed or extended in several localities. It is not a completely new situation. There are still localities where the elections were not organized on time. As far as I know, AEP sent the Government a list of about 10 such cases, not just this one. In these situations, the law provides for the mandatory organization of elections, but there are no sanctions if the deadline is not respected. The government should set the date of the elections, at the proposal of the Permanent Electoral Authority, but this procedure can be postponed indefinitely, in the absence of sanctions. Obviously, where there is a vacancy, elections must be held. Currently, the interim is ensured by the mayor, I believe that this practice of successive postponements is harmful to democracy, as the legal deadlines should be strictly respected.” explained Septimius Pârvu for “The Truth”.
“Adevărul” also requested a point of view from the spokesperson of the Government, Ioana Ene Dogioiu, who said that she would come back with a position after documenting herself in relation to this situation. As of the time of publishing this material, I have not received any response.
