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The UDMR (Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania)'s President Kelemen Hunor said on Wednesday at the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) that parliamentary elections should not be postponed and made it clear in the context that he does not agree with closing theatres, cinemas and restaurants, and that measures should be taken where there are outbreaks of COVID-19, according to Agerpres.
"Elections should not be postponed. We don't know what's going to happen in November, December, but we don't know what's going to happen in January and February. So I don't think things will be radically different in March than in November. That's why I don't support postponing the election, I really wish we had a week earlier, but I couldn't. And the day of the vote does not pose a risk to human health. I said from August to September, at every campaign meeting: when you go to the polls in the polling station, the risk is no greater than when you go to get bread, milk or drink a beer with colleagues at the restaurant," Kelemen Hunor said at the BEC seat.
He added that there is another discussion about what decisions the Government has taken, which is about how it behaves in relation to the increase in the number of infections.
"And here we can discuss. I, for example, do not agree for the theatres and cinema halls to be closed. No one can prove to me that there are outbreaks there, that people get sick there. If for actors, for creators you don't give the opportunity to create, to get on stage, to make film and for spectators to go to the theater, to the cinema, you make a big mistake. That's not where the big issues are. Or I don't agree to suddenly shut down restaurants. We proposed in June to make tough decisions where there are outbreaks, to isolate that outbreak. That's when the National Commission said that in Romania they can't apply on spot. Now they understand that it is possible, even the president said that you have to make decisions and restrictions, that you have to impose restrictions where there are outbreaks. So here the Government should be a little more coherent and not go in the direction where you will not stop outbreaks," the UDMR leader opined.
According to him, "there are measures that do not logically link".
"You close the restaurants, but you don't know what activities should go on. You close where there's an outbreak, but not in the whole country, plus, you don't throw responsibility on parents, citizens, teachers and local authorities. You don't give money, you don't give instruments. So, such a longing for decentralization I've never seen in 30 years like in these months. There should be a little more coherent discussions and much more coherent decisions here," Kelemen Hunor stressed.
The UDMR leader reaffirmed that the Union's lawmakers would not vote on a bill on postponing the elections.
"Nothing has changed, nor can you by law. The Constitution says how you can extend parliament's mandate. There are some extremely well-described cases in the Constitution. The Constitution says that the mandate is four years, unless there is war, a state of emergency, a curfew and so on. You can't extend Parliament's mandate with a bill and say "it's dangerous, I don't know what." So that doesn't work. I don't want to have a situation so harsh and so unpredictable as to postpone the election, because that means we're in big trouble. I do not want this for anyone, I believe that if the Government will make coherent decisions, communicate these decisions, then we can stay within these limits and hold the parliamentary elections. I saw at the local elections that it was actually a very good organization, less in Bucharest, in a few sections. (...) Parliamentary elections should not be postponed," the UDMR president stressed.
