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| UNINOMINAL VOTING OPTIONS (30.10.2007) |
| (2007-10-30) |
| Last updated: 2007-11-02 9:19 EET |
On Monday, the Romanian government, led by the Liberal Calin Popescu Tariceanu assumed responsibility before parliament for a version of the uninominal voting law concerning parliamentary elections, with 24 amendments filed by parties. President Traian Basescu had previously decided to call a referendum on a different uninominal voting system at the same time as the elections for the European Parliament, scheduled for November 25th. The government’s version is actually a hybrid system and was initially put forth by the ProDemocratia civic association. This provides for the election of a single MP in a given constituency, namely the person who wins the largest number of votes. This is how half of the parliamentary seats will be elected, while the other half will be occupied by proportional representation. President Basescu, however, has called on Romanians to have their say on the majority two-round uninominal voting, which boils down to the “winner-takes-it-all”. Unless a candidate obtains at least 50% plus one of the votes in the first round, the following round will decide the winner out of the 2 candidates ranking first in the first round. Prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu talks about the system put forth by the government:
“Under this bill, we assume responsibility for the politicians’ increased accountability before their voters. With this bill, we assume responsibility for adapting our political system to our new status as a EU member, with more than 1 million Romanians living abroad. We also take responsibility for the protection of minorities’ rights, so that they can be fairly represented in parliament.”
The president, however, claims that the proposal upheld by the government:
“(The proposal) has a tremendous number of drawbacks and does not essentially solve the restructuring problem and the reform of the political class. On the contrary, it gives way to the opportunity for people who have not even been voted on a list to join parliament. The law is the result of political compromises.”
The senate is currently debating a 3rd uninominal voting version, quite similar to the version put forth by the government. Its chances to become a law are, however, minimal. First and foremost, because the project for which the government has assumed responsibility can only be rejected through the introduction and adoption of a no-confidence motion, which nobody is considering. Secondly, because the president’s proposal may not be passed by referendum because of a low turnout, in which case the executive stands to win. Only if the president’s proposal is approved, can Parliament have the last say on the matter. Still, the people’s decision is consultative, which allows Parliament to reject the president’s option and promote its own.
(Mihai Radulescu)
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