Romania's General Prosecutor starts probe into 2009 presidential elections

Romania’s General Prosecutor’s office announced yesterday its decision to open an investigation into the 2009 presidential elections. The prosecutors will be investigating possible acts of abuse of office and forging public documents and election data. The General Prosecutor’s office decided to start this investigation after local journalist Dan Andronic, who worked as a campaign consultant to former President Traian Basescu in those elections, said he attended a meeting on the elections night at the home of former interior minister Gabriel Oprea. Andronic said that the former director and deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), George Maior and Florian Coldea, were at that meeting, as well as Laura Codruta Kovesi, who was Romania’s General Prosecutor at that time. He said that they were all receiving information about the poll results and seemed very concerned with the election outcome. Andronic’s revelations determined the heads of the Parliament’s two chambers, PSD’s Liviu Dragnea, and ALDE’s Calin Popescu Tariceanu,to ask for a parliamentary investigation into the 2009 elections. However, the General Prosecutor’s decision to start a probe on this will block the Parliament’s initiative. editor@romania-insider.com