General local elections can be held anytime from June 14, but it’s Parliament’s call when exactly. The Law on Local Administration says that a local elected official’s term of office lasts until the term of the replacing official is validated. Plus, the law doesn’t explicitly set a deadline for when to hold elections. This was the answer of Central Electoral Commision president Alina Russu to reporters’ questions about the possible date of the next local elections.
“We all look forward to Parliament’s decision to know when to start the process of organizing local elections”, stated Russu.
Asked whether the local elections can be conducted simultaneously with potential legislative snap elections, Russu said this is theoretically possible, but will be very challenging procedurally. The voting process on February 24, when people had to cast ballots in a parallel referendum on top of an already two-component legislative vote, was quite demanding for the electoral staff, said Russu.
On June 14 it will be four years exactly since the last general local elections were held. The only time limitation established by the law is for Parliament to leave at least 60 days between the decision to hold elections and the actual date. If Parliament theoretically decides to hold local elections on the earliest date possible, which is June 16 (the first Sunday after June 14), lawmakers will have to make up their minds no later than April 17 to stay within the 60 days minimum.
