Macabre situation: Dead woman appointed polling station president in Romania

A dead woman was appointed president of a polling station in a village in Botosani county, in north-eastern Romania. Romania's Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP) appointed the presidents and deputies of the polling stations from several counties by drawing lots, on Monday, May 23. Rodica Dobrota, a woman who died in March this year, was drawn president of a polling station in Santa Mare commune in Botosani county, reports local Mediafax. The situation occured because the electoral register hasn’t been updated, according to AEP representatives. The register's upgrading should have been done by the local authorities. The authorities took notice of the error and will appoint a new president for this polling station. This incident comes to show once more that the electoral lists in Romania haven't been properly updated. The Ministry of Interior is currently checking the national population register to remove the dead people that may have been forgotten there. The Ministry of Interior has already removed more than 1,500 people who appeared in the register to be over 100 years old, when in fact they were dead. The authorities are looking into the situation of 1,000 more people over 100 who are also presumably dead. Dead people who appeared on the electoral lists have been found to have voted in the previous elections. Romania will organize local elections next week, on June 5, and parliamentary elections in November. Local elections in Romania: Candidates not allowed to offer pens, hats and buckets Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com