Chamber of Deputies’ plenum threw out the bill regarding amnesty and pardoning, after the legal committee had previously rejected it. 293 MPs voted against the bill, only one in favor and another one abstained from voting.
The move comes after PM Ponta had informed on Monday that PSD and ruling parties’ deputies would vote against the bill and would approve prosecutors’ request to investigate some MPs targeted for corruption. President-elect Klaus Iohannis asked Parliament on Monday to keep its word and discuss and then veto the controversial amnesty bill.
Amnesty draft was a heavy topic of the presidential campaign, the two contenders, Klaus Iohannis and Victor Ponta clashing on it, with Iohannis challenging Ponta to urgently table the bill in Parliament and reject it.
When drafted the bill was harshly criticized, as it was allowing many officials prosecuted for corruption to get out of jail. According to the bill, jail sentences up to 7 years were to be amnestied.
As for MPs investigated for corruption and who were still hiding behind their parliamentary immunity, the Chamber gave its green light on Tuesday for the remand custody of three MPs, Ioan Adam from PSD (Social Democrat Party), Mircea Ro?ca from PNL (National Liberal Party) and Ion Dini?? from PC (Conservative Party). Another Liberal deputy, Akos Mora resigned from Parliament, thus giving up his parliamentary immunity. Before the plenum session proceeds, Chamber Speaker Valeriu Zgonea urged all MPs, irrespective of their political color, to vote ‘in plain sight’ for the three deputies’ immunity lifting. On Monday, Zgonea promised to resign if the Chamber didn’t vote for the prosecutors’ arresting requests.
In Senate, the legal committee have the O.K., with eight votes pro and one against, for the prosecution against PSD senators Ecaterina Andronescu and Serban Mihailescu in the Microsoft files. The final decision is however to be taken by the Senate plenum.