Local elections 2016: Most Romanians wouldn’t vote for a candidate investigated for corruption

More than 82.6% of Romanians wouldn’t vote for a person who is under investigation or on trial for corruption charges and only 8.4% say that they would vote for such a candidate in the local elections, according to an INSCOP survey. Romania will organize local elections on June 5 this year, when city mayors, county council presidents and local councils will be elected. Some of the mayor candidates are investigated for corruption, despite the big parties' promises that they wouldn't support such candidates. For example, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, the current mayor of Craiova and a vice president of the Social Democrat Party - PSD, wants to run for a new term as mayor of Craiova although she is investigated for alleged bribery. Cristian Popescu Piedone has also announced that he would run for mayor in Bucharest’s District 4, as an independent. He resigned last yearafter the fire at Colectiv club and was later prosecuted for abuse of office. However, Romanian politician Ludovic Orban, the National Liberal Party – PNL’s announced candidate for the Bucharest mayor position, withdrew from the race after the anticorruption prosecutors started an investigation on him last week. Only 57.7% of Romanians are showing interest in the local elections, the INSCOP study shows. This is largely due to the fact that many Romanians see no real alternative to the big parties and politicians that have been leading the country in the past 25 years. There is no clear favorite as to what party may win the elections, as the Social Democrat Party and the Liberal Party are almost tied in the polls. Some 38.4% of the Romanians say they would vote for PSD's candidates while 36.7% would vote for PNL. The other parties are far behind. More than 38% of the respondents to the survey say wouldn’t vote the current mayor, but a similar percentage of 37% would give their vote to the person who currently holds this position. Almost 40% would be willing to vote for an independent candidate. Romania’s Government allocates EUR 78 mln for local elections Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com