Election campaign to start in Romania
In Romania, the campaign for the local and European Parliament elections officially begins on Friday, and for the first time abroad, more than nine hundred polling stations will be organized.
Mihai Pelin, 09.05.2024, 14:00
In exactly one month, Romanians are expected to the polls to elect their representatives in the European Parliament, as well as their future mayors, local and county councilors. The campaign for the local and European Parliament elections due on June 9 officially begins on Friday. If for the EP election Romanian citizens can vote anywhere in the country or abroad, for the local elections they can cast their vote only in the constituencies where they are domiciled or reside. The candidacies for the local elections that remained definitive will be displayed both at the headquarters of the county electoral offices, at the headquarters of the Central Electoral Bureau, and on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority. After the printing of the ballots, a sample will be made public, for the citizens to get familiarized with them and identify the political competitors for whom they are going to vote, and thus be able to vote having all the necessary information, explained the president of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Toni Grebla.
In order to make things clear, he also explained how the people who will be at their domicile or residence address on the election day will be able to vote for the local officials: “The Romanian citizens having their domicile in the country vote only in the constituencies which they are assigned to for the local elections. For the citizens who reside in a place other than that where they are registered in the permanent electoral lists, they can vote only on the condition that the residence, the non-domicile visa was obtained more than 60 days before the date of June 9.”
Those who go to vote on June 9, will receive five ballots – four for the local officials and one ballot for the list or independent candidate for the European Parliament elections. As in previous elections, an IT specialist will check the submitted ballots to eliminate the risk of a multiple vote.
Toni Greblă explained that for the European Parliament elections, the novelty is that approximately 900 polling stations will be organized abroad for all Romanians with the right to vote: “For the European Parliament elections, there is only one electoral constituency, at country level, and there is only one list of candidates for the EP elections for each political competitor. So, there is a ballot that is identical both for the citizens who vote in Romania and for those who vote abroad, regardless of where they have their domicile or residence. All they need is to be Romanian citizens with the right to vote.”
Toni Greblă also made a series of clarifications regarding the election posters, claiming that non-compliance with the rules will attract the punishment of the guilty. The European Commission has also launched a campaign to warn citizens about the risks of disinformation and the ways in which it can be fought against. Furthermore, a new web page provides access to all useful information in this regard. (LS)
