Censure motion/ Parliament sitting has started

The plenary sitting of Parliament in which the censure motion called "The Dancila Government must be dismissed! No OUGs, no access passwords and no queues for voting" is to be debated has started. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and ministers of the Cabinet are attending the sitting. A number of 250 MPs are in the plenary hall, according to the presence via the electronic vote. The censure motion was filed and read last week in the plenary sitting by Liberal Deputy Gigel Stirbu. The document is signed by 173 MPs belonging to the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union (USR), the People's Movement Party (PMP), the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) and unaffiliated MPs. In order to pass, the motion needs 233 votes in favour. The voting will be secret with balls. According to the calculations, the Opposition MPs are: 93 - PNL, 40 - USR, 17 - PMP, 30 - UDMR, and 24 - PRO Romania, with a total of 204. On the other side, the PSD has 208 MPs and ALDE 31, thus, being 239 deputies and senators of the power. There are 17 national minorities deputies, as well as 5 unaffiliated MPs. Pro Romania Chairman Victor Ponta announced that, although the party MPs haven't signed the motion, they will vote for it. The PSD and ALDE MPs announce that they will ensure the quorum, but they won't vote. Before the meeting, PNL Chairman Ludovic Orban sent a message to deputies and senators of the PSD and ALDE in which he told them that they shouldn't remain "accomplices of this toxic regime" and they should vote for the censure motion to rehabilitate themselves in front of the Romanians. *** The censure motion shows that Romania urgently needs a government with a pro-European vision, with a maximum of 15 ministries, not 27, oriented toward the country's priorities: education, health, public investment and attracting European funds. The signatories of the censure motion point out that "the future government has the obligation to get involved in the implementation of a modern and current voting system that effectively allows every Romanian citizen living abroad to vote." "Vote for this motion, because the Romanians' vote cannot be ignored by any politician in Romania! Tomorrow, let's start the change for the better, let's start building, because the country needs a competent government and much work in the interest of all!" - It is the urging of the initiators of the motion to their parliamentary colleagues. According to the document, "the sanction against the PSD and against the Government comes directly from the citizens, who have clearly said that they no longer want a government which is unable to lead the country for the better and which has one single outright priority - permanent attacks on Justice." "In two and a half years, the PSD and the ALDE divided an entire country, destroyed the role of the fundamental institutions, mutilated important laws, compromised the chance to modernise the country and constantly attacked the foundations of the Romanian democracy and the rule of law. On 26 May 2019, the PSD managed to unite all of us, those home and abroad, to save our country from the PSD's hands, and we succeeded," the censure motion shows. AGERPRES (RO - author: Alina Novaceanu, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - editor: Rodica State)