Ban on convicted criminals to hold public offices
The Romanian Parliament has made an extremely important decision. Convicted criminals will no longer be able to run for local or parliamentary elections.
Mihai Pelin, 12.10.2022, 14:00
No person convicted of any crime can run for local and parliamentary elections, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies decided on Tuesday, as it approved two draft laws in its capacity as a decision-making body. The persons who cannot be elected to the positions of local councilor, county councilor, mayor or president of the county council, senator or deputy, are those persons who, on the date of submitting their candidacy, were definitively sentenced to custodial sentences for crimes committed with intent, unless rehabilitation, post-conviction amnesty or decriminalization intervened.
The first draft law adopted comes with a key amendment to the law submitted by deputy Cătălin Teniță from REPER (set up by the former Save Romania Union – USR leader Dacian Cioloș) which originally provided for a ban on the participation in elections for persons convicted of crimes against minors (rape, pornography, trafficking, serious bodily injury, etc.).
We started from a law initially meant to protect children, given that the number of convictions indicates that in Romania, at least one child out of five is at risk of becoming a victim of sexual abuse up to the age of 18, including rape, pornography, trafficking, serious bodily injury, and so on. The fact that together with my colleagues we extended and adopted this law with reference to all criminals tells me that yes, indeed, Romania is trying to heal itself, says Cătălin Teniță, who submitted the original law together with the opposition Save Romanian Party deputy, Diana Stoica.
The adoption of the law is a victory for the children of Romania, says Diana Stoica, for her part: This project initially started out of the desire to protect children, because we all saw how, last year, a mayor who had sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl for three years was re-elected to a public position. In the future, if this law does not pass, such persons will be able to hold public positions and be at the head of the communities, and, worse, of the country as well.
The MPs were removed from this bill, but they were introduced, on the same day, through another bill, initiated by several National Liberal Party – PNL deputies and senators (in the governing coalition). Thus, persons who, on the date of submitting their candidacy, have received definitive criminal convictions cannot run for parliamentary elections.
Corruption has led Romanians to have extremely low confidence in the state institutions, and it has equally weakened the state and made it poorer, said one of the initiators, the liberal Raluca Turcan: It’s never too late. Corruption impoverishes. Corruption makes young people and worthy people leave this country. Corruption makes honest, righteous people be disappointed by everything that means decision-making in Romania. Today, a big step forward has been taken so that righteous people should access key institutions.
The two bills are to reach President Klaus Iohannis for promulgation. (LS)
