The pre-election period for the presidential elections in Romania begins this week when the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) is to be established.

The first round of the presidential elections is scheduled for May 4 and the second round on May 18.

The Central Electoral Bureau will be set up on February 20, candidates can submit their candidacies until March 15, and the electoral campaign starts on April 4 and ends on May 3, at 07:00, according to the decision on the presidential calendar, published in the Official Journal.

The main milestones of the electoral period, according to the calendar approved by the Government, are:

* February 20 – the 5 judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice who will be part of the BEC are appointed by drawing lots

* within 24 hours of the appointment of the judges to the Central Electoral Bureau, at the latest on February 21, the BEC president and his deputy will be elected by secret ballot, from among the magistrates appointed to the Bureau

* on February 22, the president and vice-presidents of the Permanent Electoral Authority and one representative of each parliamentary political party will join the Central Electoral Bureau

* February 23 at the latest – submission to the Central Electoral Bureau of the protocol on the establishment of electoral alliances

* February 27 – the National Audiovisual Council (CNA) shall establish the rules for the conduct of the electoral campaign through audiovisual services

* by 15 March, 24:00, at the latest, political parties, political or electoral alliances, organizations of citizens belonging to national minorities and independent candidates may submit their candidacies

* no later than 48 hours after the submission of candidacies, by March 17, shall take place the registration or rejection of candidacies or of the electoral symbols

* by 18 March, candidates, political parties, organizations of citizens belonging to national minorities, political alliances, electoral alliances and voters may lodge appeals with the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) regarding the registration or rejection of the candidacies or of the electoral symbols, as the case may be; on 19 March the CCR shall settle the appeals by means of final decisions, which shall be immediately communicated to the Central Electoral Bureau and published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I

* Candidates may withdraw their candidacy until the date of the final decision on the candidacies, no later than March 19.

* March 20 – final candidacies and electoral symbols which are to be communicated to the county electoral bureaus, the electoral bureaus of the districts of Bucharest municipality and the electoral bureau for polling stations abroad, in the order in which they were submitted

* within 48 hours from the date of the final submission of the candidacies – March 22 – the order of registration on the ballot will be established; the BEC will communicate the order of registration of the candidates and their electoral symbols on the ballot to the Constitutional Court of Romania and the Official Journal of Romania

* on March 23, the BEC is completed with the representatives of the political parties which are not represented in Parliament and which have proposed candidates

* on April 4 the electoral campaign begins and ends on May 3, at 07:00

* May 2, from 07:00 (local time) to 21:00 (local time) – first day of voting abroad

* May 3, between 07:00 – 21:00 (local time) – the second day of voting abroad

On both days, voters who are at the polling station at 21:00 (local time) and those queuing outside the polling station to enter the polling station may exercise their constitutional right until 23:59 (local time) at the latest

* May 4 – the third day of voting in the diaspora; polls open at 07:00 (local time) and close at 21:00 (local time or Bucharest, Romania Time, as the case may be); on Sunday, voting ends at 21:00 local time, but no later than 21:00 Bucharest, Romania Time. Voters who are at the polling station premises at the closing time, as well as those who are queuing outside the polling station premises, may vote until 23:59 local time at the latest, but no later than 23:59 Bucharest, Romania Time.

* May 4, 07:00, voting starts in the country; polling stations will be open until 21:00. Voters who are at the polling station at 21:00, as well as those who are queuing outside the polling station to enter the polling station, may exercise their right to vote until 23:59 at the latest

* no later than 3 days after the end of the voting, at the latest by May 6, 24: 00, political parties, political alliances, electoral alliances, organizations of citizens belonging to national minorities represented in the Council of National Minorities and candidates who participated in the elections may file petitions for the annulment of the elections on grounds of electoral fraud; the duly substantiated petition, accompanied by the evidence on which it is based, shall be submitted to the Constitutional Court

* 8 May – submission with the Constitutional Court of Romania of the minutes of the vote, together with the minutes of the verification and centralization of the results of the vote drawn up by the county electoral bureaus, the electoral bureaus of the districts of Bucharest, the electoral bureau for polling stations abroad and the electoral bureaus of the polling stations; after receiving the file from the Central Electoral Bureau and after the resolution of the applications for the annulment of the elections for electoral fraud, the Constitutional Court of Romania validates the elections, the result will be published in the Official Journal

In the event of a second round, the electoral campaign will start on May 9 and end on May 17, at 07:00.

Elections in the country take place on May 18 between 07:00 and 21:00 Bucharest, Romania time.

Voting abroad will also take place over three days:
* Friday, May 16, between 07:00 – 21:00 (local time)
* Saturday, May 17, between 0:00 – 21:00 (local time)
* Sunday, May 18, between 07:00 (local time) – 21:00 (local time or Bucharest, Romania local time, as the case may be).

No later than 3 days after the end of voting, at the latest by May 20, 24:00, the parties and candidates who participated in the elections may file petitions for the annulment of the elections on grounds of electoral fraud, which will be submitted to the CCR.

On 22 May, the BEC forwards the minutes to the Constitutional Court, together with the minutes of the verification and centralization of the results of the vote drawn up by the county electoral bureaus, the electoral bureaus of the districts of Bucharest, the electoral bureau for polling stations abroad and the electoral bureaus of the polling stations; upon receipt of the file from the Central Electoral Office and the resolution of the applications for annulment of the elections for electoral fraud, the election results are validated and published in the Official Journal.

AGERPRES