President Klaus Iohannis stated on Wednesday that, in his opinion, it doesn’t matter whether the presidential elections take place in September, October, or November, because what matters is the opinion of the Romanians.
The head of state emphasized that the President of Romania should be elected by Romanians and not by parties, and Romanians should inform themselves and show interest, regardless of whether they are in the mountains, by the sea, at work, or anywhere else during the campaign.
"Regarding the presidential elections, according to the current legislation, they can take place in September, or in October, or in November. If something else is desired, the legislation must be changed, and I believe it is too late.
In my opinion, it doesn't matter whether they take place in September, October, or November; what matters is the opinion of the Romanians. It is important, for me, to emphasize that the President of Romania should be elected by Romanians and not by parties. That's why we have direct voting, and that's why I believe it is important for Romanians to inform themselves and show interest, regardless of whether they are in the mountains, by the sea, at work, or anywhere else during the campaign," added the President.
The head of state also pointed out that these elections are the most important for the next five years.
"There is a lot of discussion about how much power the President has or doesn't have. I can say that he has enough power to make the presidential elections the main focus of this year's elections. Parliamentary, local, and European elections are equally important, but we know that for Romanians, the focus is on electing the President, and I think it's good that way," stated the President.
"That's why I don't want to say when they should take place or who should run. That is determined by the parties. There can also be independents. But Romanians need to realize the importance of these elections for Romania and go out to vote. That is what concerns me the most," he added.
The governing coalition meets on Wednesday to discuss the date of the presidential elections, amid disagreements between the PNL and PSD regarding the schedule of this electoral process.
PSD insists that the elections should take place in September, as initially agreed within the governing coalition.
The Liberals want them to be held in December, arguing that organizing the elections in September would disrupt activities in schools and, furthermore, an electoral campaign in August would be atypical, considering it is a holiday month.