International

Who will lead Romania? The mandate of Iohannis and the current Parliament expires on December 21. What the Constitution stipulates

The mandate of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis expires on December 21, and the Constitutional Court of Romania recently decided to cancel the presidential elections, which implies the resumption of the entire electoral process. Under these conditions, new presidential elections cannot be organized before next year, reports g4media.ro.

Extension of mandates:

The Constitution stipulates that the mandates of the President and Parliament can be extended only in emergencies.

art. 83 par. 3: The mandate of the President of Romania can be extended, by organic law, in case of war or catastrophe. art. 63 par. 1: The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are elected for a 4-year mandate, which is extended by law in a state of mobilization, war, siege or emergency, until their termination.

art. 93: (1) The President of Romania shall, by the law, establish a state of siege or a state of emergency in the entire country or in some administrative-territorial units and shall request Parliament to approve the measure adopted, within 5 days of its adoption at the latest (2) If Parliament is not in session, it shall convene by right within 48 hours of the establishment of the state of siege or the state of emergency and shall function for the entire duration thereof.

The Constitution (art. 83 paragraph 2) also provides that: "The President of Romania shall exercise his mandate until the newly elected President takes the oath". Interim Presidency

The new parliamentarians were, however, elected in the elections held last Sunday, December 1. The procedures for validating the results of these elections are ongoing. Under the Constitution (art. 63 par. 3), “The newly elected Parliament shall meet, upon convocation by the President of Romania, no later than 20 days after the elections”.

Therefore, Klaus Iohannis is the one who has the constitutional obligation to convene the new Parliament.

The new Legislative has time to be constituted until December 21, and the President of the Senate and the President of the Chamber of Deputies can be elected immediately. According to the Constitution, if the position of President of the country becomes vacant, the position is exercised on an interim basis, in order, by the President of the Senate or the President of the Chamber of Deputies:

art. 97 par. 1: The vacancy of the position of President of Romania occurs in the event of resignation, dismissal from office, permanent inability to exercise the duties or death.

art. 88 par. 1: If the position of President becomes vacant or if the President is suspended from office or if he is temporarily unable to exercise his duties, the interim is ensured, in order, by the President of the Senate or the President of the Chamber of Deputies.

What happens with the appointment of the new Government?

In the event that the President of the Senate or the Chamber of Deputies acts as the interim President of the country, he has some constitutional limitations: "the powers provided for in Articles 88-90 cannot be exercised during the interim presidential term".

Articles 88-90 of the Constitution refer to: addressing messages to Parliament, dissolving Parliament and organizing a referendum.

The Constitution does not establish limitations for the appointment of a Prime Minister and the appointment of a new Government. Here too, several ways shall be followed.

The current Cabinet led by Marcel Ciolacu ends its mandate on the date of validation of the parliamentary elections and managed current affairs until the swearing-in of the new Government:

art. 110 par. 1: The Government exercises its mandate until the date of validation of the general parliamentary elections. art. 110 par. 4: The Government whose mandate has ended according to par. (1) and (2) shall only carry out the necessary acts for the administration of public affairs, until the members of the new Government are sworn in.

The possible variants under these conditions are:

The Ciolacu Cabinet shall ensure current affairs until after the presidential elections and the installation of the newly elected president of the country who shall designate the new prime minister.

The interim president shall designate the prime minister who shall form the Government based on a majority in Parliament.

We remind you that the first round of the presidential elections was annulled, by the unprecedented decision taken by the Constitutional Court on Friday, according to the CCR press release.

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