General Ciuca's mandate extension challenge in contentious administrative court being prepared at MApN (sources)

The initiation of a challenge procedure in a contentious administrative court of the decree to extend General Nicolae Ciuca's mandate as Chief of General Staff is being prepared at the National Defence Ministry (MApN), official sources confirmed for AGERPRES.

According to the sources, the challenge will be most probably filed on Wednesday.

President Klaus Iohannis announced on 28 December 2018, after the meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT), that he signed a decree extending the mandate of General Nicolae Ciuca at the helm of the General Staff of Defence, pointing out that the proposal made by the Defence Minister, Gabriel Les, for filling in this position wasn't approved.

On the same day, PM Viorica Dancila said that President Klaus Iohannis hasn't the prerogative of extending the mandate of the General Staff of Defence chief, maintaining that the decree announced by the head of state doesn't comply with the legality requirements and creates the premises for a judicial conflict of a constitutional nature. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Adina Panaitescu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)