Candidates for President must present just 15,000 signatures to be approved, the validation threshold of the presidential election has been lowered to one-third, and the date of the election must be set no later than 30 days from the expiry of the outgoing President's term – these are some of the Election Code amendments, as approved today by Parliament's Legal Committee.
Democrat Sergiu Sirbu, a co-drafter of the amendments, said that besides the regular 30 days' deadline for the presidential election date, Parliament will have 60 days to set the date in case the post becomes vacant following resignation or death.
The turnover threshold has been set at one-third of the registered voters, like in the case of the legislative elections. Also, following consultations with electoral experts and based on international practice, the number of signatures allowing a person to enter the presidential race has been significantly lowered from 180,000 to a total of 15,000 or, alternatively, 600 from each of at least a half of the country's administrative units.
Amendments to the Election Code have become necessary after the Constitutional Court in March reinstated the election of President by popular vote.
