The new Government plans to change the electoral law before next year’s elections

The new Government plans to change the electoral law as one of its priorities for next year is to organize next year’s elections. Local elections are programmed to take place in Romania in mid-2016 and parliamentary elections will take place at the end of next year. The Government plans to amend the electoral law so that the elections for mayors and county council presidents will take place in two rounds. The changes also target eliminating the minimum threshold for political parties to get into local councils, reducing the number of signatures that independent candidates need to gather to go into the elections, and introducing the possibility for independent candidates to associate on the lists for local elections. The Government will also focus on facilitating the opening of more electoral wards abroad, so as to allow all Romanians abroad to vote. One of the cabinet’s bigger plans is to draft a project to merge all elections in Romania so as to minimize the negative effects of the electoral processes on the country’s economic and social life. The Government thinks this is achievable by making all mandates five years and aligning the dates for the presidential, parliamentary, euro-parliamentary, and local elections. The Government also wants to get the people more involved in coming up with law initiatives by making it easier for groups of citizens to get their law projects admitted by the Parliament. Another measure is to digitalize the electoral lists and to make the whole electoral process digital, to avoid electoral fraud. Which are the new Government’s ten priorities for Romania? editor@romania-insider.com