Romania's electoral authority says president Iohannis cannot run as independent on Liberals' list
<p>Romanian president <strong>Klaus Iohannis</strong> can not run as an independent candidate on the parliamentary lists of the Liberal Party (PNL), the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) in Romania ruled, answering a clarification request filed by the PNL.</p>

<p>It is one of the episodes related to president Iohannis's parliamentary candidacy, a process that risks damaging the Liberal Party's credibility and the odds of the Liberal presidential candidate Nicolae Ciuca.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A person who is proposed on the list of a political party or political alliance and accepts the candidacy, cannot claim to be independent, BEC argued, as reported by <a href="https://hotnews.ro/presedintele-klaus-iohannis-nu-poate-candida-ca-independent-pe-listele-pnl-a-decis-bec-1800988?mc_cid=62eaedc66c&amp;mc_eid=cd1f92f96c" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hotnews.ro</a>. As a consequence, president Iohannis should step down from his post before the end of his term if he seeks to run in the parliamentary elections.</p>

<p>President Klaus Iohannis avoided explicitly rejecting plans to run in the parliamentary elections, but about a controversial amendment sketched by the Liberals for smoothing his candidacy, he rejected the scenario as "it would be a law for one person." At that time, however, it was clear that the senior ruling Social Democratic Party did not support the Liberals' amendment.</p>

<p><em>iulian@romania-insider.com</em></p>

<p><em>(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Alex Nicodim)</em></p>