Elections 2025: Reduction of the voting program in the diaspora causes dissatisfaction

The provisions of the government ordinance approved on Thursday by the Government for the organization of the presidential elections to be held on May 4 and 18 have attracted criticism from both the opposition and civil society, which accuses the fact that the program established for Sunday will affect the right to vote of Romanian citizens abroad.

Elena Lasconi, the president of the USR, reacted vehemently, stating that this decision is directed against voters in the diaspora, who traditionally vote in large numbers for the opposition.

Lasconi declared at the end of last week: "It is clearly a measure against voters in the diaspora, who removed Ciolacu from the second round in the last elections. This ordinance is the last straw for Toni Greblă and we demand his resignation. It is unacceptable that the institution he leads does not ensure the fairness of the electoral process."

In a message on the official Facebook page, the USR leader accused the Permanent Electoral Authority of a lack of transparency and failure in organizing previous elections.

MEP Claudiu Târziu, president of the AUR National Council, said: "Stopping voting in the diaspora with the closing of the polls in Romania is an absurd decision, which denies the right to vote to Romanians far from home. They can only vote in the morning, for a few hours, although in some countries they have to travel tens of kilometers to the polling station. It is a mockery of the millions of Romanians who contribute to Romania's economy and who deserve to be represented."

The non-governmental organization Expert Forum drew attention to the discriminatory effects of the new ordinance. Article 5 of the ordinance, which provides for the closing of polling stations in the diaspora on the Sunday of the election at 9:00 p.m., Romanian time, is considered a violation of citizens' right to equal voting conditions.

"This measure creates the premises for favoring some candidates and generates confusion for both the electoral administration and the voters. There is no logical justification for this change, and its application will lead to absurd situations," said the representatives of Expert Forum, according to a press release issued by the organization. They pointed out that voters in certain regions, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco or Vancouver, will have an extremely reduced voting interval of several hours, on the main day, Sunday, May 4.

Expert Forum also criticized the fact that the measures were adopted without public consultation and without a real analysis of the problems encountered in the previous elections. "We request the repeal of Article 5 and an explanation of the reasons why the Permanent Electoral Authority proposed this change," concluded the organization.

In response to the above criticisms, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu claims that the measure, although controversial, has a logical and democratic justification.

Marcel Ciolacu said, after the meeting he had on Friday with the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu: "Romania has an exception that does not exist anywhere in any other democratic state: Romanian citizens in the diaspora vote for three days, while in Romania voting takes place for only one day. It is democratic that when the vote closes in the country where the elections are held, at that moment the vote closes everywhere. The Romanian state has made considerable efforts to facilitate voting in the diaspora. The number of polling stations was doubled in the last elections, so that Romanians do not have to travel more than 10-20 kilometers to the nearest station."

For his part, Toni Greblă, president of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP), explained that the amendment can be reviewed by Parliament if it is considered problematic.

Toni Greblă said: "The change is compensated by extending the voting program on Friday. Instead of starting at 12:00, polling stations will open at 7:00 in the morning, local time. Most polling stations in the diaspora will only be marginally affected. In Western Europe, we are talking about a reduction of one or two hours, and in the US and Canada of several hours, depending on the coast".

He explained that in the presidential elections on November 24, 2024, only 26,000 people voted after 21:00, Romanian time, in the diaspora. "This figure represents a small percentage of the total number of voters. In compensation, Friday's vote was extended by five hours", added the head of the AEP.

Greblă specified that the decision could be reviewed: "The Emergency Ordinance will be debated in Parliament, and until February 18 there is enough time to make changes, if deemed necessary".