APADOR-CH says the referendum on justice must not be held on the same day with the EP elections, as there is a risk to hijack this major topic for electoral purposes.
The statement comes after the meeting several NGOs had with President Iohannis at Cotroceni Palace on Tuesday. APADOR-CH has not attended the meeting with the head of state.
”APADOR CH considers that the national referendum is a form through which the people exert its sovereignty, according to article 2, paragraph 1 in the Constitution, and not a vehicle that can be used to influence the result of the ballot. The referendum must not be treated like another <electoral bus>, whose purpose is to bring as many voters as possible to the parliamentary, national or European elections,” the NGOs argues in a press release.
The Association also pointed out that the question to be asked at the referendum has not been submitted so far.
„Logically, first there must be a problem of national importance, clearly identified, that is troubling the entire national, a problem whose answer can be found through a referendum. In this case, the idea of a referendum was first, then they wondered what the question should be. This question has not been submitted until this day, when the referendum advanced from the stage of <almost determined> to <decided>. So, we have a referendum, the only thing we still need is the question,” the press release further reads.
APADOR-CH claims that, although holding simultaneously a referendum and elections has been declared constitutional, there must be decided, from one case to another, if the proposed referendum serves to solving a real problem of national interest or it’s just a pretext to ensure < the steroids> needed to lure voters to the parliamentary elections. The NGO also added that the one who makes this assumption must be politically correct.
„These are the reasons for which APADOR-CH has not attended the consultations at Cotroceni yesterday. Besides, there has been no official invitation from the Presidential Administration that should also mentions the topics of discussion. There has been only an invitation by phone, an early-morning one, at the end of last week, containing very few information,” the press release concludes.