The European Congress has underscored the importance of Romania refraining from last-minute amendments to its electoral legislation or relying on emergency ordinances to tackle politically sensitive matters. This stance was outlined in a report by the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, which was presented during the 48th session on March 26. Among the issues raised was a controversial emergency ordinance that scheduled both the 2024 local and European Parliament elections on the same day – a decision made just months before the polls.
The report called for the creation of a consolidated electoral code through extensive and inclusive dialogue.
Its conclusions stemmed from a fact-finding mission in Bucharest on October 24, 2024, initiated by the Congress Monitoring Committee following a complaint regarding alleged irregularities during the June 2024 local elections.
Emphasizing the critical need for electoral consistency, the report noted that the choice to implement the emergency ordinance was avoidable – a sentiment also expressed by the Venice Commission in its opinion released on March 14, 2024.
Additionally, the Congress urged Romanian officials to streamline vote counting procedures, enhance transparency in election oversight, and enforce mandatory recounts when substantial discrepancies are detected.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, a body within the Council of Europe, works to bolster local and regional democracy across its 46 member states. It comprises two chambers – the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions – and three committees, uniting 612 elected representatives who collectively oversee more than 130,000 local and regional bodies.
