The President of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Adrian Tutuianu, states that there are 28 cases pending before the courts concerning disputes between the AEP and its employees.
At the same time, the AEP notified the competent authorities and filed a complaint with the DNA, joining the proceedings as a civil party to recover damages, after the Court of Auditors' report for 2025 highlighted deficiencies in the management of certain activities that caused "significant" financial loss to the institution.
"The fact that I am taking measures and trying to bring order to the situation within the institution obviously bothers them. We currently have 28 cases pending in court. The Court of Accounts audited previous financial years, issued public rulings, and required us to take specific actionsincluding calculating the financial losses incurred by the AEP. Consequently, regarding the period up to 2025, I have referred the matter to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate concerning acts punishable under criminal law committed by former or current officials of the institution. The financial loss, determined based on the Court of Accounts' calculations and adjusted for interest and inflation, exceeds two million lei," the AEP president stated on Tuesday during a press conference held at the institution's headquarters.
He mentioned that on the day he took office, he found an office at the AEP set up like "a sort of clubwith a hookah and everything needed" for people "to feel at ease" during working hours.
"A week ago, a younger colleague who had joined the AEP told me that another colleague had said to her: 'My dear, it's simply not the done thingit doesn't fit the institution's culturenot to sue the institution at least once a year.' I inherited these lawsuits, and others will likely arise, because there is a group of people who ended up at the AEPusually without a competitive selection process, through friendships or family tieswho constantly stir up disputes within the institution, resist any change, and would like to run the place themselves, if possible," added the AEP president.
Tutuianu maintained that employees of the institution who are removed from their positionssometimes without strict adherence to the legally prescribed proceduresubsequently initiate litigation, seeking payment of interest and inflation-linked adjustments.
Furthermore, following legislative amendments in 2019-2020, the AEP came to have seven high-ranking civil servants whose earnings exceed even those of the institution's president. In this regard, Tutuianu advocated for amending the law governing the AEP's organization and functioning, as well as for a new law on remuneration.
"Those suing the institution today want to regain their status as high-ranking civil servants, which entails a very good salary, a daily allowance of 2% of their pay for each working day, official housing, and a company car. The monthly cost of a high-ranking civil servant ranges from 30,000 to 40,000 lei," Tutuianu stated.
The President of the AEP expressed the view that the institution had not adequately ensured its defense in these lawsuits. For this reason, he intends to organize an internal selection process for staff working in the Political Party Financing Control Department, the Administrative Litigation Directorate, the Control Body, and the Financial-Accounting Directorate.
"Generally, the standard procedure involved submitting position papers, formal responses, and written briefs to the court, rather than appearing in court to monitor the case proceedings. In these high-value cases, the institution was neither represented nor defended. I should also mention that I discovered that the staff at the Administrative Litigation Department had barely heard of the Electronic Case File system until about two weeks ago," he said.
In addition to these, there are two other disputes between the AEP and all its employees. The first case was resolved at the court of first instance against the institution.
"The union filed a claim on behalf of nearly 250 people for the payment of the food allowance for previous years. The lawsuit was already underway when I arrived here; it was at the litigation stage. We estimate the financial impact at over 2 million leiperhaps 2.5 millionincluding accrued interest. There is also a second dispute looming: several individual employees, as well as the union itself, are seeking an adjustment to their allowanceAEP employees receive a 30% bonus currently calculated based on salary levels from previous yearsto align it with the current minimum wage; this will likely result in significant additional costs, amounting to one or one-and-a-half million lei," he noted.
On Tuesday, following the press conference, Adrian Tutuianu issued a statement revealing that he had known about the organization of the "spontaneous" protest by certain AEP employees.
"That is precisely why I have not altered my schedule or abandoned the established agenda. I respect every employee's right to express their opinions and to resort to legal forms of protest. I will not take a single step back regarding adherence to the work schedule, the fulfillment of professional duties, the quality of administrative operations, the defense of the institution's interests, the promotion of reform projects, and the implementation of measures necessary to modernize the AEP," he stated.
