Romania to spend EUR 9 mln more on this year’s presidential elections than in 2009

Romanian authorities will spend some EUR 43.5 million on organizing the presidential elections in November, the Government has decided. The budget for this year’s elections is EUR 9 million higher compared to the presidential elections in 2009, according to Digi24 news station. Most of the money, some EUR 37.7 million, was allotted to the Internal Affairs Ministry (MAI). The Government’s General Secretariat got EUR 10.6 million and the Permanent Electoral Authority received EUR 2.4 million. Smaller sums were allocated to the Special Telecommunications Service and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, which organizes the elections for Romanians abroad. The first round of this year’s presidential elections is on November 2 and the second round will take place on November 16. On this occasion, Romanians will decide who will lead the country in the next five years, replacing President Traian Basescu, now close to the end of his second mandate. Some 18 million Romanians have the right to vote, but almost 3 million of them are abroad. editor@romania-insider.com