The referendum called by Nicuşor Dan has passed the first validation threshold

The citizens with the right to vote in Bucharest yesterday expressed, in addition to the option for the position of President of Romania, those regarding the questions in the referendum organized by the General City Hall of the Capital, a referendum that far exceeded the minimum threshold of 30% to be considered valid, following the counting it will be established whether the threshold of validly expressed votes for validation has also been passed. According to the centralized data by 6:00 p.m., 604,620 citizens out of the almost 1.8 million citizens with the right to vote voted in the referendum, i.e. 33.83% of the total. According to the data provided in real time by AEP, by 6:00 p.m., 594,290 Bucharest residents on the permanent lists had voted, 9,037 on additional lists, and 1,293 with the mobile ballot box. The situation by sector regarding the turnout in the referendum was as follows at 6 p.m.: Sector 1 - 37.13%; Sector 2 - 35.51%; Sector 3 - 28.94%; Sector 4 - 35.57%; Sector 5 - 32.75%; Sector 6 - 36.23%.

Throughout the day, the participation of Bucharest residents in the referendum was encouraged by a series of civic initiatives and campaigns on social networks. The promoted messages emphasized the importance of expressing one's opinion for the future of the city and active involvement in decisions that affect the life of the community. The polling stations recorded a constant flow of citizens, and the organizers noted a notable presence of young people and families. Despite the crowding in certain locations, the voting process took place without major incidents. Independent observers monitored the activity in the stations to ensure compliance with the rules and transparency.

However, a few isolated incidents were reported throughout the day. In some polling stations, ballots temporarily ran out due to unexpectedly high turnout, leading to brief interruptions in the voting process. Authorities intervened quickly to supplement the necessary materials and remedy the situations. Also, several reports of attempts to influence voters in the vicinity of polling stations were investigated by the police.

The three questions to which the participants in the referendum answered YES or NO are:

1. Do you agree that the distribution between the Bucharest City Hall and the Sector City Halls of income taxes and local taxes and duties collected from Bucharest residents should be approved by the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest?

2. Do you agree that the General Mayor of the Municipality of Bucharest should issue Building Permits throughout the administrative territory of the city?

3. Do you agree that the Bucharest City Hall should finance and implement a health education and drug prevention program in all schools in Bucharest?

In order for the local referendum in Bucharest to be validated, the presence of 30% of the number of voters in Bucharest, representing approximately 540,000 people, is required. The referendum result is validated if the options validly expressed represent at least 25% of those registered on the permanent electoral lists, i.e. approximately 450,000 Bucharest residents.