Romanian far-right party AUR launches suspension push against president Nicuşor Dan
The president of the far-right opposition Alliance for the Union of Romanians Party, or AUR, George Simion (photo left), announced on Tuesday, June 30, that his party started suspension procedures against centrist president Nicuşor Dan (right).
In the announcement, Simion demanded that the head of state appoint a new prime minister this week, “in accordance with his constitutional obligations.”
The AUR leader had invoked the possibility of suspending the president from office in another post from June 26, when he asked Nicuşor Dan to accept AUR taking over the government.
“AUR in government! It is the only solution! If N. Dan does not comply, he must be suspended,” George Simion wrote at that time.
On the other hand, the leader of the AUR senators, Petrişor Peiu, a more moderate voice in the party, reminded that beginning the suspension procedures also requires the support of another large party. Peiu said that “the suspension procedure is always on the table” and accused Dan of “having a totally hostile behaviour towards a party that has, to some extent, 20% of the votes in Parliament.”
According to Article 95 of the Constitution, the procedure for suspending the president can be initiated by at least one-third of the total number of deputies and senators. AUR’s initiative is unlikely to succeed without the backing of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), or Save Romania Union (USR), the three major parties in the Romanian Parliament. That backing, however, is similarly unlikely.
The same day as Simion’s announcement, PNL leader Ilie Bolojan, who recently fought off internal opponents backed by president Dan, said that his party will not back the suspension initiative. “Of course, we can criticize the person holding a position, regardless of what position it is, but if we think about this country, we need some stable frameworks,” Bolojan argued during an interview for TVR.
The president's suspension is a popular topic in the far-right camp. Earlier this month, Călin Georgescu, the former presidential candidate known for his pro-Russia, far-right views and currently under investigation for complicity in an attempted coup d’état, called on the Parliament to begin the procedure to suspend president Nicușor Dan. He accused Nicușor Dan of “illegally” occupying Cotroceni Palace, the seat of the president.
Last month, the extremist, pro-Russian SOS Romania party announced that it had begun the process of collecting signatures for the suspension from office of Nicușor Dan.
The president of Romania can be suspended if one-third of parliamentarians request it, and only after a vote by a majority of elected MPs in Parliament. If the initiative passes the legislative vote, a referendum must be held within 30 days to dismiss the head of state.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos| Malina Norocea and Sabin Cirstoveanu)
