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The MPs of the Right Force do not support raising the electoral threshold from 5% to 7%, as it is intended in a draft submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the party leader, Ludovic Orban, believing that a threshold of three percent worked best in Romania.
"The higher the electoral threshold, the higher the percentage of citizens who are not represented in Parliament or in other deliberative forums. So it is deeply illiberal to come up with a proposal to increase the electoral threshold. The 7% electoral threshold only worked in Russia. But even in Russia, the 7% electoral threshold was lowered in the last elections to 5%. There is a recommendation of the Venice Commission to all democratic countries of the European Union, which recommends a threshold as low as possible, and the maximum threshold that is accepted in this recommendation of the Venice Commission is 5%. (...) As far as we are concerned, obviously the 16 MPs from the Right Force will not vote for such a draft. This draft is also made out of fear of the Right Force or, in general, of the centre-right political parties," said Right Force party Chairman Ludovic Orban told a press conference in Sibiu on Saturday.
Orban argues that a lowering of the electoral threshold would be beneficial for better representation in Parliament and beyond, according to agerpres.ro.
"If you ask me, the optimal threshold was the threshold that worked in Romania until 2000, the 3% threshold, and it worked very well, (...) it ensured a representation of almost 90% of the Romanian citizens, but it was changed," Ludovic Orban said.
Chairman of the Right Force party Ludovic Orban is paying a visit to Sibiu county on Saturday, where he has met with party members and supporters at the county branch headquarters, after which he will attend the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu and the Bujorul de Munte Festival in Gura Raului.
