With the parliamentary elections just days away, high Romanian officials are urging the population to exercise their right to vote this Sunday.

On Thursday, December 8, both President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos called the Romanians to the polls on Sunday, December 11. While the law forbids the President to support any political party, "independent" PM Ciolos has actively got involved in the campaign, in the past week, on behalf of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and Save Romania Union (USR), the two parties that have pledged to support him for another mandate.

“Today I have a very important message to the nation: Dear Romanians, go vote! Vote! It is a right won hardly in December 1989 (e.n. the Romanian Revolution). Go vote and don’t let someone else decide for you! If you like a party, go and vote for it, if you haven’t decided yet, think well, but go vote! If all politicians annoy you, go vote! We’ll meet on Sunday at the polls,” Iohannis said.

The Prime Minister also published a video on his Facebook page, in which he says that he wants to continue the projects started during the one-year mandate, and urges the people to vote this Sunday.

“Yes, I wish I could continue and complete these projects and others arising from what we started doing this year. I first want to thank PNL and USR, which decided to support the Romania 100 platform unconditionally and have chosen to focus on values and principles before talking about commitments in a future government program. For these projects started this year to continue, we need to be able to create a parliamentary majority around these two parties after the December 11 elections, around PNL and USR,” Ciolos said.

IRES interviewed 1,100 people by telephone on December 6-7, and only 42% of those questioned said they would surely go to the polls on Sunday, and 28% said they would probably go to vote. Meanwhile, 24% have decided not to vote in the elections. This survey also shows the Social Democratic Party (PSD) the likely winner, with 44% of the votes.

In 2012, the turnout in the parliamentary elections was 42%, and in 2008 – 39%, way lower than in 2004, when over 58% of the Romanians went to vote in the elections. However, in 2008, the parliamentary elections were held at the same time as the presidential elections.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com