Mircea Geoana removed as Romanian Senate president

The plenum of the Senate has decided by majority vote to remove Mircea Geoană from the office of President of the Senate.

The session was chaired by the vice-president of the PDL, Petru Filip, who announced that the rightful termination of Mircea Geoană’s mandate as member of the Standing Bureau and as President of the Senate had been decided.

Mircea Geoană’s removal was voted in a plenary session of the Senate with 112 votes in favour, two votes against and five abstentions.

The Standing Bureau of the Senate reassembled after the plenum and decided to appoint Petru Filip, the vice-president of the Democratic Liberal Party, in the office of interim President of the Senate.

The Standing Bureau specified that a schedule for the appointment of a new President of the Senate has not yet been decided upon, as proposals are required from all parties and, according to law, every party can nominate a candidate.

However, the leader of the National Liberal Party senators, Puiu Haşotti, stated that a new President of the Senate will be elected during the next session of the Standing Bureau and that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) support Titus Corlăţean.

Having been removed from the office of President of the Senate, Mircea Geoană declared that he intended to lodge an appeal against this decision with the Constitutional Court of Romania.

Mircea Geoană stated that he would lodge an appeal against this decision with the Constitutional Court, claiming that the two sets of circumstances under which the President of the Senate could be changed were unconstitutional.

“Withdrawal of political support and infringement only apply to the members of the Standing Bureau and not to the President of the Senate, who, according to the Constitution, has a special status in the Standing Bureau, thus being neutral,” added Mircea Geoană.

According to Mircea Geoană, a removal can be carried out only in the eventuality that serious breaches of the Constitution are found.

In his declaration to the Senate, Mircea Geoană pointed out that he understood and respected the political motivation behind the vote given in the plenum today, but that the vote lacked constitutional grounds.

Translated by: Roxana-Andreea Dragu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University