Romania's ruling party criticizes Constitutional Court for decision on local elections

The deputy president of the National Liberal Party (PNL),Raluca Turcan, and the head of the Liberal deputies Florin Roman, have criticized the Constitutional Court (CCR) for its decisions on who gets to decide the calendar of the local elections.

CCR ruled on June 3 that the Parliament has the authority to extend the mandates of the local elected officials and determine if it decides the election calendar or delegates it to the Government. As an effect, the Parliament (where the Social Democratic opposition holds a strong position) should summon quickly to settle both issues.

CCR's decision threatens the functioning of the Romanian state, PNL's deputy president Turcan said.

"This is crazy! For the second time, in less than a month, the Constitutional Court's judges endanger the functioning of the Romanian state! Around June 20, the mandates of local elected officials will expire," Turcan stated, according to Agerpres.

The head of the Liberal deputies Florin Roman accused CCR's judges of political bias. "It is for the first time in Romania that CCR declares unconstitutional a Government ordinance that no one has challenged," Roman said.

According to the CCR, the Parliament needs to decide the extension of the local official's mandates by law as the Government can't do this by emergency ordinance. The Executive has issued an emergency ordinance with this end, which the Parliament amended. The Liberals objected to the Parliament's amendments, and the Constitutional Court fully invalidated the ordinance.

(Photo source: Facebook/Raluca Turcan)