Political party switching

The Opposition in Romania was quick to respond to a government order allowing elected officials to switch parties within 45 days of elections.

Florentin Căpitănescu, 05.09.2014, 12:37

The government emergency ordinance regulating party switching has been published this week in the Official Journal of Romania. The government, made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania, the Conservatives and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, claims this new piece of legislation is intended to streamline the work of local administration offices, paralysed by political reconfigurations since the 2012 elections.

The Christian Liberal Alliance in opposition argues however that this encourages the already widespread practice of party switching. Threatened to lose many of its local elected officials, the Opposition initiated a motion of censure, challenged the ordinance at the Bucharest Court of Appeal and urged the Ombudsman to take measures against it. Victor Ciorbea, speaking for the Ombudsman, had this to say:

“The ordinance has finally been published in the Official Journal, so now we have the text, we have the written memo from the Christian Liberal Alliance, and other arguments. We will try to come up with an official position as soon as possible.”

Observers believe that pragmatic electoral purposes are in fact underlying the move. The Social Democratic Party, which controls the central government, has far less influence in the local administration, which is precisely why it tries to win over mayors from opposition parties. This, analysts argue, would benefit the Romanian Socialists in more than one way. On the one hand, it would strengthen their position in the local administration, and on the other hand it would pave the way for the election of prime minister Victor Ponta, the Social Democratic candidate in this autumn’s presidential ballot.