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PSD leader Liviu Dragnea has received a confidence vote of the National Executive Committee
The members of PSD's National Executive Committee gave a majority vote of confidence in favour of the party leader, Liviu Dragnea. He received a confidence vote from 55 members of the National Executive Committee (CExN) while 8 voted against, PSD Deputy Secretary General Codrin Stefanescu announced on Friday evening.
He stated that 64 members of PSD's CExN were present of the total of 65 - the Defence Minister being out of the country. "There were 8 votes against Liviu Dragnea, one abstention and 55 in favour. This was today's vote," Stefanescu specified at the end of PSD's CExN meeting. According to him, an official record was drafted in this regard by PSD's technical secretariat, the votes being open.
Stefanescu mentioned that two of the Social-Democrats left during the meeting with reason, handing over their mandate, namely the mayor of Bucharest District 4 and the executive president of Bucharest District 1.
"Of the members who voted in support of Liviu Dragnea, almost all had mandate on behalf of the organisations. (...) The mandates were put on the table and each of those who voted for Liviu Dragnea was backed by the entire organisation. In the end, the mayor of Bucharest District 5, Daniel Florea suggested a resolution, voted in the organisation's Executive Committee he represents, regarding the ousting from PSD of Mrs. Gabriela Firea [General mayor of Bucharest, e.n.] for the statements she has consecutively made for 11 days and which have immensely damaged the party's image - a thing that we had also discussed among ourselves. Certainly, many of the colleagues requested a vote in this regard and it goes without saying what the vote would have been like under these circumstances. But Liviu Dragnea, the party's leader, called for calm and cooperation, said that in his quality of chairman, he can ask us again to have confidence and not to put it to a vote. This is what happened, 'the dictator' Liviu Dragnea overriding the intention to also vote on this matter. He closed it," Stefanescu explained. He added that another PSD CExN meeting will most likely take place in the upcoming period.
According to General Mayor of Bucharest Gabriela Firea, Deputy Chair of the Social Democratic Party (PSD, major at rule, e.n.), who had asked for Dragnea's resignation in the first place, that it was the first meeting of this forum in which the issues troubling its members were debated in all honesty.
"The main gain of the Executive Committee was - as several colleagues opined - that it was the first CExN meeting where all the issues that trouble all of us who are members of the Executive Committee were naturally debated in all honesty, with logical arguments. Nobody had that apprehension that has existed so far and I believe it is auspicious that although this common statement regarding PSD's state was, so to speak, contested, it has also brought a good thing, it has been beneficial to the party," she stated at the end of the National Executive Committee (CExN) convention .
Firea further specified that it was a very long Executive Committee meeting but probably also "one of the most dense", at which approximately 30 people took the floor.
"There were opinions for and against our demarche to release a joint statement regarding the state of the Social Democratic Party. (...) The joint statement on the state of PSD was signed - practically assumed by signature by 25 of our colleagues. (...) I am a PSD member, I am the party's deputy chair, I considered I have exhausted the statutory stages when I went public with the statements I made; I had colleagues who have thought alike in many regards," she affirmed.
Firea added that the signatories of the letter requesting PSD leader Liviu Dragnea's resignation uphold the functioning of the majority coalition and will by no means endanger the smooth running of the Dancila Government.
"We totally support the functioning at the highest level of the PSD-ALDE [the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, minor at rule, e.n.] majority coalition in Parliament. We also support the Government led by Mrs.Viorica Dancila. We will not be contributing, we will by no means endanger the smooth running of the Government's activity. We are not the ones to lead to the tearing down of the PSD-ALDE Government," Mayor Firea specified.