Dacian Ciolos is the new chairman of USR PLUS, following the runoffs of the internal elections. Ciolos defeated Dan Barna by 19,603 votes to 18,908. The voting was online.
Today, a number of 1,200 delegates of USR PLUS will attend the Congress in Bucharest to validate Ciolos’ mandate and to establish the membership of the new National Bureau. The even is taking place at Romexpo, but, considering the pandemic, maximum 150 people will be simultaneously in the hall, therefore delegates who will vote have been split in shifts to cast their votes.
Only vaccinated people are allowed to attend the Congress.
93 USR PLUS members have filed their candidatures for the new National Bureau, grouped in three lists, but also three independent candidates.
“USR PLUS 2024 ruling“: Dan Barna, Octavian Berceanu, Vlad Botoş, Cosette Chichirău, Cristian Ghinea, Cătălin Drulă, Stelian Ion, Elena Lasconi, Liviu Mălureanu, Radu Mihail, Radu Mihaiu, Ionuţ Moşteanu, Claudiu Năsui, Cristina Prună, Cristian Seidler, Lucian Stanciu-Viziteu.
“#United, we succeed!” list consists in: Dacian Cioloş, Alexandru Paul Dimitriu, Anca Dragu, Victor Giosan, Andrei Lupu, Ioana Mihăilă, Alin Mituţa, Dragoş Pîslaru, Alin Stoica, Ramona Strugariu, Ciprian Teleman, Oana Ţoiu, Dragoş Tudorache, Vlad Voiculescu.
“#Together USR-PLUS. Courage for Romania” list: Adrian Albu, Flavia Boghiu, Marius Cobianu, Alexandra Coliban, Allen Coliban, Andrei Corbu, Radu Molnar, Mihai Poliţeanu, Bogdan Stroe, Nicu Ştefănuţă, Cătălin Teniţă, Vlad Teohari.
The three independent candidates: Andrei Iulian Margarit, Lucian Ştefan Rădulescu, Alexandru Surcel.
USR and PLUS have merged in May this this year after in the past years the two parties led by Dan Barna and Dacian Ciolos had taken part in the EP elections, local, parliamentary and presidential elections, as an alliance.
Ciolos: I will not be a member of the Gov’t, all options on the table
The USR PLUS chairman elect USR PLUS, Dacian Cioloș, said after winning the internal elections that after the new National Bureau is elected he will be able to establish the negotiation strategy after the censure motion. Ciolos ruled out any cooperation with PM Florin Citu, but said that “all possibilities are on the table”. Ciolos also reiterated he is not accepting any position in the Cabinet, saying he will be in charge only of the party.
At the beginning of the Congress held today, Ciolos said that, following the merger, the party becomes stronger, though stressing that the cooperation between the USR and PLUS members is essential. He said that in USR PLUS there are members who “are one click away” and also others for whom “the click is still far away”.
“It is time to bring these two members together in our party, to stop their denial and division, as, by extension to the party’s external reality, this is our duty to all Romanians, to unite them and bring them together”, Ciolos stated.
He also voiced his confidence that there is no other party except USR PLUS that should has so much confidence in the country’s modernization.
Barna: I will still be part of the project
As for his contender Dan Barna, he congratulated Ciolos on Facebook for winning the USR PLUS leadership. He labeled the internal competition as “discrete, but epic”, while wishing Ciolos “a mandate through which USR PLUS should carry on the spectacular story in the Romanian politics that we have been building in the past five years”. The former USR leader said he will still be part of this project and he “will contribute with all his strength”.
Today at the Congress, Barna said that “unfortunately Romania currently has a government seized by a person for whom the PM hat is too large”. “I am confident that this will end and we shall be able to end a crisis that Romania doesn’t need”, Barna said, adding this crisis is useless and absurd, which “has been created by a man in the name of his ridiculous personal ambition”.
Barna pointed out that, in those eight months of being in the government, USR PLUS has proved that “it knows, can and wants to make reforms”.
The new USR PLUS leadership
Catalin Drula, Vlad Voiculescu, Dan Barna, Ionut Mosteanu, Anca Dragu, Allen Coliban and Claudiu Nasui are the new vice-chairs of Save Romania Union – Freedom, Unity, and Solidarity Party (USR PLUS), following the internal elections for the establishment of the National Bureau composition.
The new leadership was elected on Saturday, during the USR PLUS Congress.
The National Bureau will have 24 members, of whom the first seven, in the order of the number of votes, are vice-chairs.
Of the three lists of candidates, “USR PLUSin government 2024” won the most seats. The results are as follows:
– “USR PLUS in government 2024” obtained 13,643 votes (57.32%), which means that it will have 14 seats. These will go to: Catalin Drula, Dan Barna, Ionut Mosteanu, Claudiu Nasui, Cristian Ghinea, Vlad Botos, Stelian Ion, Lucian Stanciu-Viziteu, Cristina Pruna, Silviu Dehelean, Radu Mihaiu, Liviu Malureanu, Radu Miruta, Radu Panait;
– “United, We Succeed!” garnered 8,001 votes (33.61%) and will have eight seats; these will go to: Vlad Voiculescu, Anca Dragu, Dragos Tudorache, Andrei Lupu, Oana Toiu, Ioana Mihaila, Dragos Pislaru, Monica Berescu;
– “#Together USR-PLUS. Courage for Romania” obtained 2,110 votes (8.86%) and will have two seats. These belong to Allen Coliban and Catalin Tenita.
During the USR PLUS Congress, were elected the members of the National Arbitration Committee and of the the National Audit Committee.
The National Arbitration Committee: Emil Duhnea, Bogdan Burjan, Lorin Ursa, Leonard Ioan Bulai, Nicolae Tanasa, Marius Vulcan, Raluca Rusu, Adrian Nita, Oana Ozmen, Antonio Parau-Enache, Ionela Alexandra Bulgaru.
The National Audit Committee: Ioana Andreea Dinet, Ovidiu Radu, Alexandru Gabriel Andronache.
At the same time, USR PLUS decided to return to the name of USR, but also to the old logo on an exclusively blue background, according to a decision adopted in the Sunday meeting of the party’s Congress, held online.