Romania’s parliament rejected the cabinet proposed by Siegfried Mureșan after it received 182 votes, short of the 233 needed to take office. Most opponents stayed out of the vote rather than casting ballots against it. The result prolongs the search for a government with full powers, leaving the interim administration in office and the next constitutional step with President Nicușor Dan.
Romania’s parliament rejected Prime Minister-designate Siegfried Mureșan’s cabinet on September 30. It needed 233 votes to take office and received 182. Another 15 lawmakers voted against it, with 197 ballots cast in all. The vote followed presentation of the cabinet and governing programme at a joint sitting of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. The result left the country without a newly installed government with full powers.[1], [2]
The proposal had support from the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, which represents the ethnic Hungarian community. Lawmakers from the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians did not participate. Mureșan accused the parties that had started the political crisis of prolonging it. He thanked the three supporting parties for their work on the reform programme.[1]
Bolojan’s government continues in an interim capacity. President Nicușor Dan is expected to consult parliamentary parties before deciding the next step, which could include naming another candidate. Two successive failed investiture attempts have fulfilled one constitutional condition for a possible dissolution of parliament. Early elections still depend on the other procedures and the president’s decisions. Dan had previously said he did not see early elections as a solution to the crisis.[1]
