Romanian Constitutional Court: Merging Local, Parliamentary Elections Might Affect Voting Process

On January 25, 2012, the Court overruled the law setting this fall’s parliamentary and local elections are to be held simultaneously.

According to the Court’s motivation, considering the complexity of the process and the time needed to vote using six ballot papers, some voters might miss voting deadlines and might be turned away from polling stations.

Merging parliamentary and local elections also breaches article 37 of the Constitution regarding the right to be elected, reads the motivation.

Extending the term of elected local authorities violates the provisions of local public administration Law 215/2001, as well as the Constitution. It breaches the principle of election periodicity and the principle of non-retroactivity of the law, reads the motivation.

The law on merging local and parliamentary elections was adopted through a vote of confidence on December 15.

A motion of no confidence, filed by the opposition Social-Liberal Union, failed to receive the necessary number of votes, which prompted the opposition to challenge its legality before the Constitutional Court.