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President Klaus Iohannis, speaking today at a press conference at the Cotroceni Palace, said that "the essence of democracy lies in free elections", emphasizing the need for the society's democratic life to continue and therefore hold parliamentary elections on December 6, despite the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
"We must see what kind of society we want to live in, if we want to live in a panic-stricken society that keeps hiding away, or if we want to live in a society that respects the rules but carries on with its democratic life. The essence of democracy lies in free elections. As long as the term of this Parliament comes to end in December, holding free elections is mandatory for having a new Parliament with full powers, and this will happen on December 6," the President said.
Asked if a postponement of the parliamentary election wouldn't be advisable, the President said he discussed with experts, doctors and specialists and none was able to tell him, "hand on heart, that things will be better in March than in December."
Iohannis also noted that the evolution of the pandemic is the same across the entire Europe and that the recent rise in the number of cases cannot be blamed on a particular official.
"Unfortunately, the same evolution of the pandemic is noticeable not only in our country, but in the entire Europe, and it would be a very cheap excuse to look for one or several politicians to blame for this. The government and I, as well as all the other authorities are trying our best to prevent the spread of this pandemic in Romania. The results are what we see," he said.
The head of the state emphasized the need for "more determined" measures to stop the pandemic.
"We have not yet reached a critical situation as regards the intensive care capacity, which is further being increased. It is however clear that at this time we need to take more determined action if we are to slow the spread of this pandemic," Iohannis went on to say.
