“Legislative elections are the only valid democratic option that will allow us to have a new legislative representative legitimized by the vote of the citizens,” Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in a press conference, reflecting on the alarming COVID-19 pandemic (via Ziare). He also said that the country must wake up and restore order to what he called “parliamentary chaos.”
“Legislative elections must not be postponed because one party or another will be ready to deal with it in a few months. Elections must take place on the agreed date, not only because they are essential to how we will manage the pandemic but also to have a solid majority to back the reforms,” Iohannis said at the second press conference held at the Cotroceni Palace this week. The president also took the opportunity to lash out at the Social Democrats: “The current PSD majority is an illegitimate one that has not reflected the true will of Romanians for a long time,” he said, adding that the Social Democrats have used their power to push through “populist” bills.
A Romania without a functioning parliament would be a catastrophe, the president said, because the country is in the middle of a healthcare crisis and is living in harsh economic and social times; thus, Iohannis aims for a country with legitimate legislative representatives.
As the number of confirmed coronavirus infections has risen, there have been rumors about city lockdowns – Bucharest is in the red zone – to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. However, as one economist pointed out, this would trigger a series of disastrous events, leading to economic failure. The president seems to agree with him, but the decision is in the hands of experts. However, Iohannis said he doesn’t want to get to the point where Bucharest must go into quarantine.
“At this point, we are not discussing a so-called lockdown at the level of state leadership,” Iohannis said. “We are looking for solutions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus while keeping essential activities alive,” the president added countering the rumors about a possible lockdown due to the high number of daily infections being registered.
Title image: The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis casts his vote at a poll in Bucharest. Image source: Iohannis’ Facebook page
