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Parliament votes Ombudsman removal from office
On Wednesday, the deputies and senators voted for the draft decision regarding the removal of Renata Weber from the leadership of the Ombudsman institution.
There were 247 votes "in favour," 32 "against" and one parliamentarian did not vote.
Removing Renate Weber from the position of ombudsman was made in accordance with constitutional procedures, and a new person will be appointed to the office by the end of the current parliamentary session, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday.
"Today, based on the report prepared by the judiciary committees of the two chambers of Parliament, a plenary sitting of Parliament decided to remove Renate Weber from the position of ombudsman for reasons related to the violation of the Constitution and the laws of the country. It is a decision that was made in accordance with constitutional and legal procedures, which has a substantiation and has a report of the judiciary committees that clearly mentions the violations of the Constitution and the legislation that were the basis for the removal," Orban said at the end of the joint plenary sitting.
He added that next week the procedure for appointing a new ombudsman will begin, "a procedure that is provided for in the Constitution, in the law, in the common regulations."
"We will carry out this procedure so that, by the end of the current parliamentary session, we will succeed in appointing a new ombudsman at a joint sitting of the two chambers of Parliament. (...) When we take the decision, we will make it public (...) There is no violation of the rule of law," added Orban.
În turn, leader of Social Democrat Deputies Alfred Simonis on Wednesday said there is nothing that would justify the removal of the Ombudswoman from office adding that Social Democrats are going to attack the Parliament's decision on Renate Weber with the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR).
"There is nothing that could possibly justify the removal of the Ombudswoman, if you looked at procedures. Therefore, we are going to attack this vote given by the joint chamber today with the Constitutional Court. The only reason for which the majority coalition wants and is in a hurry to remove the Onbudswoman is a single one: since this current government took charge you messed with everyone - the pensioners, the doctors, the teachers, the farmers, and lately the children, and these days you are going to issue an emergency ordinance to cancel the increase in the child allowance. Basically, you messed with the entire Romanian people and now you want to leave it without anyone to defend it," Simions told the plenary sitting of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate.