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MOBILISATION FOR THE UNINOMINAL VOTE 29/01/2008
(2008-01-29)
Last updated: 2008-01-30 14:46 EET Print
Romanian MPs stand the chance of dissipating the public belief according to which, in spite of the politicians’ declarations in favour of the introduction of the uninominal voting system, there is actually no political will to do that. Very often evoked by politicians along the years, desired by Romanian voters, who have already expressed their opinion on this issue in a referendum, called by President Traian Basescu last November, the uninominal vote is being debated by MPs who are meeting in a special session these days. At least at declarative level, the whole political class favours the introduction of the uninominal voting system. It is only the possible versions under discussion that divide the political class into two sides: on the one hand, there are politicians who prefer the version for which the government has assumed responsibility, a version proposed by the Pro Democracy Association, which promotes the proportional vote, whereas the second category is made up of politicians standing for the classical uninominal voting system in two rounds. As the referendum called by the president, in which he supported the latter version, was not validated because of a low turnout, the version initiated by the Pro Democracy Association is now under debate. But this version should however be changed, in the context in which three articles of the draft law were invalidated by the Constitutional Court in December 2007, at the notification of Romania’s president. What chances does the MP’s move stand to materialise in a new system, applicable as early as the local elections due in May or at least at the parliamentary elections due in autumn? Political analyst Andreea Pora from the “Romania Libera” daily newspaper has the details. ”It is very difficult to answer this question now, because political parties have different opinions. Now, everything depends on the political agreements and partnerships that will be made and on the MPs and politicians’ determination to introduce a version of the uninominal voting system in 2008. From what I’ve seen so far, testing and feeling the pulse of parties, I don’t think that politicians truly want the uninominal voting system and will find all sorts of procedural tricks and scheming to postpone the introduction of the uninominal voting system until the next parliamentary elections. “ This opinion is shared by political analyst Cristian Parvulescu, from the Pro Democracy Association. ”This special session is the result of the pressure put by public opinion. These pressures exerted by Romanian society force Parliament to have an intelligent reaction. This is their last chance to save their image. We will wait and see whether they will be capable of overcoming their idiosyncrasies or not. The lack of a political agreement is not the sign of differences in principle, but rather the clear sign of a lack of interest in any election reform. However, public opinion continues to put pressure on politicians, compelling them to try and adopt a negotiated formula. “ (Corina Cristea)

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