Consultations for new PM designation at Cotroceni presidential Palace (round-up)

After consultations on Thursday with President Iohannis at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, national leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), freshly dismissed PM Ludovic Orban announced having presented to Iohannis the PNL decision to support the requirements for early elections being met. "Our pick for prime minister is in accordance with the decision of the National Council, and it is the party chairman, namely me, Ludovic Orban. I also presented to the President the decision of the National Liberal Party to support the conditions being met for early elections being triggered," Orban said. In his opinion, early elections are necessary to ensure a fair representation in Parliament of the current options of the voters. "Romania needs good governance, Romania needs a truly representative parliament, made up of honest, competent people, dedicated to serving the public interest, to truly represent the interests, objectives and aspirations of Romanian citizens. Romania needs a parliament to be an exact mirror of the current options of Romanian citizens and able to establish a stable majority, to support a government that will implement the measures of reform, modernisation, development of Romania at the fastest rate," said Orban. Social Democratic Party (PSD) interim leader Marcel Ciolacu on Thursday announced, after the consultations at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, that he presented to President Klaus Iohannis the proposal to designate Remus Pricopie as Prime Minister. "Following yesterday's vote in Parliament, when the censure motion passed with 261 votes and the Government was dismissed, we were invited today by the President of Romania to take part in consultations. We came with the same proposal that you already know, namely Mr. Remus Pricopie, for Prime Minister. The decision belongs now to the President, it depends on him how long - a shorter or a longer period - this governmental and political crisis will last," Ciolacu said. The Save Romania Union (USR) Chair Dan Barna on Thursday said, after the Cotroceni Presidential Palace consultations, that he told President Klaus Iohannis about the decision to uphold the snap election scenario. "I told the President about the USR position, a stance declared for two years now, the early elections are the moral, ethical, correct, and necessary solution for Romania right now. Unfortunately, any other scenario would only continue what has happened in the past three months, to have a government that in fact cannot govern and (...) we will uphold the early elections scenario very clearly, we will vote against the investiture [of any government, ed. n.] so as to make sure that the following gov't will have no parliamentary support, so that we make the next step toward snap election," Barna asserted. National chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) Kelemen Hunor said on Thursday, after the consultations at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, that his Union did not present an own candidate for the position of prime minister and will not support the Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate either. "I said that we will not rally a majority around the PSD candidate for the position of prime minister. (...) The vote on the censure motion was intended to block the change of the electoral system regarding the election of mayors, it was not aimed at another political project. And I said we do not have a proposal for the position of prime minister," said Kelemen Hunor. Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) Chairman Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said on Thursday, following the Cotroceni Presidential Palace consultations, that the solution of the early elections seems inappropriate, because it would have negative consequences in political and economic terms, and the time gained over the elections at due date would be insignificant. "The Constitution sets out some steps that are extremely difficult and time consuming. The path to early elections means about four months, leading to a series of adverse consequences. The Romanian constitution is not one to facilitate the recourse to the early elections solution, quite the opposite. (...) The consequences incurred by the course of the procedure for early elections create, during this whole period, a huge legislative, economic blockade. (...) I therefore told the president that we think this solution is inappropriate, especially because the time savings are insignificant. The early elections could be organized about three to four months before the due date elections," said Tariceanu. The Pro Romania Chair Victor Ponta on Thursday said, after the Cotroceni Presidential Palace consultations that he told President Klaus Iohannis his party's nomination for Prime Minister is Remus Pricopie, who is to form a national union gov't. "Our nomination was Mr. Remus Pricopie, yet not for a PSD - Pro Romania government, but for a national union government, with Mr. Pricopie to pick the ministers together with whom he will get us through a period of obvious political crisis that could regress to an economic and social crisis, too. Because the extension of the current situation (...) means that essential draft laws, such as a budgetary rectification, let's say, cannot be passed in the next period," Ponta asserted. Deputy Varujan Pambuccian stated, on Thursday, after the Cotroceni consultations, that the group of national minorities others than Hungarian does not desire early elections and will support the Prime Minister proposed by President Klaus Iohannis. "We have stated to him the reasons for which we'd rather not prefer early elections and that we will vote absolutely any proposal the President makes for Prime Minister," said the leader of the group of national minorities, Varujan Pambuccian. President Klaus Iohannis invited on Thursday at the Cotroceni Palace the leaders of the parliamentary parties and formations for consultations in order to pick a candidate for the position of prime minister, as the Ludovic Orban Government was dismissed on Wednesday through a no confidence vote.AGERPRES (RO - authors: George Onea, Irinela Visan, editors: Catalin Alexandru, Claudia Stanescu, Andreea Rotaru, Florin Marin, Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - authors: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, Cristina Zaharia, Maria Voican, Simona Iacob, Bogdan Gabaroi, editors: Adina Panaitescu, Simona Iacob, Maria Voican)

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