Unirii Square scandal prompts Bucharest mayor to double down on local referendum

Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan announced that the land records for Unirii Square have been rectified, confirming that the Bucharest City Hall is the rightful owner and administrator of the entire above-ground area, settling the dispute between City Hall and District 4.

On Monday, October 14, a conflict over construction permits and ownership rights over the Unirii area, in central Bucharest, led to a major scandal between the Bucharest City Hall, led by Nicușor Dan, and District 4 authorities under Social Democratic (PSD) mayor Daniel Baluta.

Both mayors have been reconfirmed in their posts by voters in the local elections this summer, but they clashed over the degree of degradation of the platform over the Dâmbovița River. The area was fenced off by District 4 for construction works, but the City Hall intervened with its police force to remove the barriers.

Now, records show that the Romanian Water Administration only owns the underground riverbed of the Dâmbovița River and therefore did not have the legal right to request permits for above-ground work, as Baluta had claimed.

Dan criticized several institutions, including the Water Administration, the Land Registry Office (OCPI), and the city halls of Districts 3 and 4 - both controlled by Social Democrats - for ignoring documentation. The mayor noted that all documents based on the false entry in the OCPI registry would be reviewed, and the relevant authorities would be notified for further investigation, according to News.ro.

The scandal prompted Nicusor Dan to redouble his initiative to hold a local referendum. He called for a meeting of the General Council of Bucharest for Monday, October 21, to decide on the matter.

The two questions on the referendum ballot will be: "Do you agree that the distribution of income taxes and local taxes collected from Bucharest residents between the Bucharest City Hall and the district city halls should be approved by the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest?" The second question is "do you agree that the General Mayor of Bucharest should issue building permits for the entire administrative territory of the city?"

Combined, the two questions strengthen the position of the general mayor of Bucharest in relation to the districts.

The National Liberal Party (PNL), part of the governing coalition, announced through president Nicolae Ciucă that it will support the referendum proposed by Nicușor Dan in the General Council of Bucharest. He added that other projects will be discussed with PNL sector mayors. Despite forming the governing coalition with the Social Democrats in the Parliament, PNL was part of the mayor's majority in the General Council until the last elections.