Relevant provisions
The Constitutional Court’s power to guard the observance of the procedure for the election of the President of Romania and to confirm the ballot returns is regulated by the provisions of Article 146 f) of the Constitution and by Article 37 and Article 38 of Law no.47/1992.
Related legislation: Article 37 of the Constitution; Law no. 370/2004 for election of the President of Romania, republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no.650 of 12 September 2011: Article 27 and Article 28, Article 31 (1) and (2), Article 51 (3), Article 52, Article 53 and Article 54 (2).
This power has 2 components:
– within the first component, the Court watches over the observance of the procedure for the election of the President of Romania;
– within the second, the Court confirms the ballot returns.
- Observance of the procedure for the election of the President of Romania
On the grounds of Article 37 (1) and Article 38 of Law no.47/1992, the Constitutional Court settles objections as to the registration or non- registration of a candidacy to the office of President of Romania.
Subjects
People who can address the Court in this regard are set out in Article 31 (1) of Law no.370/2004, i.e. the candidates, political parties, organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities, political alliances, electoral alliances and voters.
The objection
– shall be filed at the Constitutional Court, within 24 hours of the deadline stipulated in Article 29 (2), respectively Article 30 (6) of Law no.370/2004,
– shall be made in written;
– concerns, in particular, the decision by which the Central Electoral Bureau admitted / rejected the registration of the candidacy or of the election signs, as appropriate, in compliance with the conditions laid down in Articles 27 and 28 of the Law no.370/2004.
Procedure
The Constitutional Court settles the objections within two days as from registration [Article 31 (2) of Law no.370/2004]. Debates take place without sending communication letter to the parties, being attended by the representative of the Public Ministry, and being based on the referral and on other documents in the case file.
Within the same power set forth in Article 146 f) of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court settles objections on preventing a political party or a candidate to conduct election campaign under the law – Article 42 (7) of Law no.370/2004.
Objections raised on the grounds of Article 146 f) of the Constitution can also be aimed at cancellation of election results.
Pursuant to Article 52 of Law no.370/2004, the Constitutional Court may cancel elections where voting and ballot returns took place by fraud likely to alter the allocation of office or, as the case may be, the order of candidates who may participate in the second round of elections. In this case the Court will have to repeat the elections on the second Sunday after the date of cancellation of elections.
Subjects
The request for cancellation of elections can be made by political parties, political alliances, electoral alliances, organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities represented in the Council of National Minorities and by the candidates who have participated in elections.
Procedural requirements
The request for cancellation of elections must be made within 3 days of the vote closing; the request must be filed together with the evidence it relies on.
Type of act issued
Within this power, the Court renders, pursuant to the provisions of Article 11 (1) B. a) of Law no.47/1992, a ruling. The ruling shall be taken by the majority vote of the Court’s judges.
Communication of the ruling
Decisions shall forthwith be communicated to the Central Electoral Bureau and published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.
- Confirmation of ballot returns
After resolving all objections made under Article 37 (1) first sentence of Law no.47/1992, the Court, based on the minutes drawn up by the Central Electoral Bureau and on the minutes signed by electoral constituencies, issues the ruling on the results of the elections for the office of President of Romania.
If the Court finds that none of the candidates receive a majority of votes of the electors enrolled in the permanent electoral lists, by the same ruling, makes public the names of the two candidates who will participate in the second round, as well as election day, which will be two weeks after the first round [Article 54 (1) of Law no.370/2004].
The Constitutional Court validates the result of each ballot and publishes election results in the media and in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, for each round.
Where such does not occur or after elections in the second round, the Court, by ruling, establishes and makes public the election results, giving the name of the person who won the election, the date and time of validation to the office of President of Romania, i.e. taking the oath at the seat of the Constitutional Court.
The validation act shall be prepared in 3 copies, of which one remains at the Constitutional Court, one is presented to Parliament for taking the oath referred to in Article 82 (2) of the Constitution, and the third is given to the selected candidate [Article 53 (2) of Law nr.370/2004].
All rulings rendered based on this area of jurisdiction, grouped per years, may be accessed here