The parliamentary committee on the presidential elections in 2009 has released the inquiry report by the majority of the votes in the Wednesday sitting.
The report concludes that former President Traian Basescu and the Democrat Liberal Government led by ex-PM Emil Boc have taken “concrete actions to favor the election rigging”. The committee indicates that potential crimes of setting up a criminal group and forgery are to be suspected.
“The committee has determined concrete actions undertaken by the presidential institution represented by Traian Basescu and by the government led by Emil Boc to favor election rigging in the advantage of the candidate Traian Basescu. These actions have been perfectly synchronized, thus proving they were part of a wide and clued plan, with the actions being premeditated. To achieve the plan to rig the elections, the representatives of the two institutions have acted in bad faith and in contempt of the law,” the report says, adding that the former president’s and government’s actions were meant to change the result of the elections.
The committee argues that it had reached the conclusion based on several facts, namely the removal of the Interior minister Dan Nica and of all Social Democrat ministers and their replacement with PDL interim ministers on October 1, 2009. The committee also said that 20 prefects have been replaced later on, which had a direct impact on the election process.
The committee also mentioned the potential crimes committed, starting with the one of setting up an organized criminal group. “Thus, Romania’s President Traian Basescu, together with PM Emil Boc and the other ministers- Vasile Blaga, Gabriel Sandu, Gheorghe Pogea, Elena Gabriela Udrea, Radu Mircea Berceanu, Cătălin Marian Predoiu, Adriean Videanu and Sorina Luminiţa Plăcintă – have teamed up to commit crimes in the way of giving odds to candidate Traian Basescu.
President Basescu is accused of forgery and use of forgery, while the members of the Boc Gov’t are accused of abuse of office by the government decisions to replace prefects,” the report reads.
The committee further notes that only the Prosecutor’s Office upon the High Court of Cassation and Justice can decide if starting criminal prosecution against Traian Basescu or not.
The current president is authorized to ask the criminal prosecution against the former Boc Cabinet members who are not MPs anymore, meaning Emil Boc, Vasile Blaga, Gabriel Sandu, Gheorghe Pogea, Elena Gabriela Udrea, Radu Mircea Berceanu, Adriean Videanu şi Sorina Luminiţa Plăcintă and the Chamber can ask for the criminal prosecution of Catalin Predoiu, former minister and current deputy.
Liberals claim PSD issued a ready-made report
The three representatives of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in the inquiry committee on the 1009 elections withdrew from the sitting, accusing the Social Democrat ruling party that it wants to enforce a “ready-made” report, without debating it.
“We cannot validate a PSD stance that they want now to cram down on our throat. It’s not possible,” said Liberal senator Daniel Fenechiu.
The involvement of SRI and DNA in favoring election rigging could not be determined
Finding the truth about the public accusation of SRI and DNA being involved in favoring the election rigging in 2009 could not be made as the inquiry committee’s activity has been blocked, also says the report.
The committee’s activity has been blocked by the denial of some people to be heard or because some others called for hearings hadn’t shown up. The committee exemplified that among those who refused to come or to answer all the committee’s questions are the anti-corruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi and Romania’s Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar.
“The committee could not clarify all aspects as its activity has been blocked (….) We cannot conclude that the elections have been defrauded, it’s the job of the authorized institutions to say that,” said the committee’s chairwoman, Oana Florea.
She announced that the report will be sent to the General Prosecutor’s Office, to the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), to the Government and to the Presidency to take the necessary actions.
In his turn, the PSD chairman Liviu Dragnea stated in Craiova on Wednesday that the report of the inquiry committee on the 2009 elections is partial and the activity of the committee is practically suspended, considering that the persons subpoenaed for hearings hadn’t come and the members of the committee haven’t received what they had requested from the Prosecutor’s Office.