President Iohannis, civil society leaders kick off consultations on justice referendum

Consultations between President Klaus Iohannis and civil society leaders on a referendum on justice legislation have started at Cotroceni Palace. Attending the consultations are leaders of the Funky Citizens, Expert Forum, Legal Resources Centre, Romania Initiative, December 89 Association, FreedomHouse Romania, Romanian Centre for European Policies, Pro-Democracy Association, Public Innovation Centre, Geeks for Democracy, # Rezistenta, We Can See You from Sibiu, Courage forward, Cluj-Napoca Anti-Corruption Umbrella, VeDem Just, Active Watch, Romanian Youth Council, Social Dialogue Group, Corruption Kills, as well as journalists Emilia Sercan and Madalina Rosca. The president said last Tuesday that he was "almost determined" to call a national referendum on May 26, at the same time with the elections to the European Parliament. "We are already working hard on this, we analyse data, alternatives, the legal part, and I am almost determined to call a referendum on May 26, when we hold elections to the European Parliament. Allow me a margin, due to the need for in-depth analysis, because (...) if I do hold a referendum then I want to have partners not only in the parties, probably more so from the opposition, the civil society, the Romanians who want to give a clear signal, and for this, I can tell you, we have been working very hard for a week. I asked my team to put forth a draft agenda, which will certainly include a meeting with some very determined civil society leaders," Iohannis told a debate. He added that "a referendum cannot produce a law" but that he wants Romanians to cast a vote in the referendum. "I want the Romanian nation to say clearly if it still wants to tolerate corruption and the corrupted ones who change the law for them to get away with murder, or if we have to draw a line and say no more!'. And from there on, we start repairing what has been broken, because very, very, very much has already been broken," he said. On Saturday, Iohannis said he wanted the justice referendum to be "well-organised, well-thought-out" in partnership with the civil society and "good faith" political parties. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)