Former President Ion Iliescu Opts Out Of Future Parliamentary Elections

Former President Ion Iliescu made public on his personal blog, http://ioniliescu.wordpress.com/, his decision to not participate in the elections this fall for parliament.
“I am not motivated to run by myself in any electoral competition. Had the vote on lists continued, I would have probably taken part in these elections,” said Iliescu.

Former President Ion Iliescu made public on his personal blog, http://ioniliescu.wordpress.com/, his decision to not participate in the elections this fall for parliament.
“I am not motivated to run by myself in any electoral competition. Had the vote on lists continued, I would have probably taken part in these elections,” said Iliescu.

The newly adopted electoral law changes the electoral system from a proportional vote, for lists of candidates, to a mixed vote, in which single candidates run in newly carved constituencies, under the system winner-takes-all.

“Since 1990 I took part only in winner-takes-all type of elections, as I was running for the presidency. My constituency then was the whole territory of Romania. This time around, I would have been confined to a constituency smaller than a county, and I have no drive for that,” Iliescu explained.

Under the new electoral law each candidate runs along a tight runway, which is his or her constituency, thus forcing each one of them to become the engine of their own success,” he added.

Iliescu also said that his stepping down from the electoral race before it even started does not mean he will take a break from politics.

“On the contrary, I will work harder for other people. I do not want to take care of executive decisions dealing with the organization of the party, but take part in the larger debates, dealing with state policies and the social-democrat party politics.” Iliescu said on Realitatea TV television channel. “I do not step down from the political life, I do not leave the party. But it is only natural that I would leave other people, younger people to run under the new electoral system,” Iliescu added.