Romanian ruling party leader says president may be suspended

Liviu Dragnea, the leader of Romania’s ruling party PSD announced on Monday that president Klaus Iohannis may be suspended. He said that Iohannis has delayed too much making a decision on the dismissal of the National Anticorruption Directorate – DNA’s chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi. Justice minister Tudorel Toader asked for Kovesi’s dismissal in February, presenting 20 “acts and facts” that allegedly proved the DNA chief’s misconduct and bad management decisions. The president rejected the minister’s request arguing that the report didn’t convince him. The Government notified the Constitutional Court, which decided at the end of May that the president entered into conflict with the Executive by refusing to dismiss the DNA head. Moreover, the Constitutional Court ruled that the president must sign the decree to dismiss Kovesi arguing that the prosecutors are under the justice minister’s authority and the president has no competencies to evaluate the minister’s decisions on dismissing prosecutors. President Iohannis said he would read the Court’s motivation until he would understand it, adding that it raised many questions. He added that a wider public debate is needed, one that may end with a referendum on justice in Romania. The ruling coalition has been pressuring the president into making a decision threatening to suspend him otherwise. PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison last week, for abusing his powers back when he was president of the Teleorman County Council, said on Friday that he would not step down as head of the party and president of the Chamber of Deputies. He also said he would accelerate the changes to the criminal codes and continue the offensive against the “shadow state” until it will be crushed. President Iohannis and DNA chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi are among the top representatives of this so-called “shadow state”, according to PSD. editor@romania-insider.com