The Referendum Law passed through the Parliament on Wednesday. The vote will last 16 hours, between 7 and 23, and the referendum will be valid should 50% + 1 of the total number of voters are present.
The Lower Chamber reunited in an extraordinary session enacted the project regarding the Emergency Ordinance 41/2012 that modified and completed Law no. 3/2000 concerning referendum’s organizing and operation passed through the Senate. The decision passed with 157 pros, 6 MPs abstained and there wasn’t any vote against, as the PDL (Democrat Liberal Party) deputies were absent, Agerpress informs.
The Senate Plenum had previously passed PSD (Social Democrat Party) senator, Dan Sova, amendment regarding Referendum’s voting program’s prolongation between 07.00 – 23.00 and maintaining the presence threshold. PSD senator’s proposal was pro voted by 63 MPs, there were 2 votes against and 7 abstentions and the vote was secret, as senator Serban Mihailescu requested.
Update 11:40 – Socialist Democrat Senator Dan Sova announced in the Senate Plenary on Wednesday that he would propose a new amendment regarding referendum program’s prolongation between 7.00 - 23.00
The leader of the Democrat Liberal deputies, Mircea Toader, had initially requested this project to be remitted to the commission.
This requirement was then renewed by the president of the Legal Commission, the Democrat Liberal Daniel Buda. He requested the remission of the regulatory document so that the jurist deputies would draw up a dismissal report in this case, asserting that the project limits Constitutional Court’s Attributions.
After a counsel break, PSD asked the session’s quorum to be verified again, and a call was made.
The Interim President of the Senate, Petru Filip (PSD), stated that the debate upon this law in the plenary session could not continue anymore as the secretary conducting the session, the Democrat Liberal Gheorghe David, left the Plenum.
The leader of the PSD (Social Democrat) group asked the Democrat Liberals to call back the session’s secretary. “Though its group draws away, the secretary never leaves”, Sarbu said.
At his turn, liberal Ioan Ghise said that the truth didn’t belong only to the opposition. “It is your right not to vote, but, being in minority, to compel the Government what to do or not is far from being moral. State your point of view, but do not command the Government, it is not moral”, Ghise said.