Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis said on Friday that he would want the electoral campaign for the parliamentary elections to be a clean one, focused on the people's problems.

“We’re rapidly approaching the campaign and I would like to have a clean campaign, focused on issues that concern the Romanians and not on throwing the image from one side to another,” the President said after a meeting with Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

He urged the politicians to get ready for a “campaign without dirt,” as Romania has seen too many dirty campaigns.

Klaus Iohannis’ statement came just days after he said that he would not nominate as Prime Minister a person that has problems with the law.

“I will never name a person who is prosecuted, convicted, or has other integrity issues,” he said.

The President also said that he wouldn't name a politically independent Prime Minister and urged Dacian Ciolos to state his political sympathy if he wished to continue as PM after the elections.

His statements have brought him critics from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and its allies. PSD leader Liviu Dragnea said that, through his statements, the President launched the idea that he would not respect the people's will.

Romania will organize parliamentary elections on December 11. Romania’s current Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said that he would not run in the elections.

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