In a testimony to Parliament’s judiciary committees on Friday, Chairman of the Standing Electoral Authority (AEP) Toni Grebla rejected accusations brought against him for his dismissal from office, saying that he does not know if it is normal to be judged by the representatives of the political parties whose financial activity he checks.

He said that he knows what a decision of the ruling coalition means, but he is afraid that the example that will be given with him will lead to weakening some activities in the electoral process.

„I, as well as the authority that I led and am leading today have tried to stay away from political disputes, not to engage in them in any way, so that at least the Standing Electoral Authority can remain neutral towards all political competitors. Last year, no one heard me in the public space using the name of a political party or the name of a candidate in the June, November and December elections, precisely in order to remain equidistant from the electoral campaign, from various interests that, naturally, are expressed, manifested during the electoral campaign. I have never responded to a criticism brought by political competitors because, had I responded, I would have considered that I am on one side or the other of the political stage,” Grebla said.

He rejected all the accusations made in the official request for his dismissal from office, mentioning that the report of the Court of Auditors showed that there was an error in the application of the law when establishing his wage.

Regarding the headquarters of the Central Electoral Bureau, Grebla said that a memorandum was approved in the government.

Grebla also alleged a possible „public execution” of him. „I will answer some questions that were put to me, leaving aside some statements that can be labelled as public execution of the chairman of the Standing Electoral Authority, who is still in office and who has the role of organising some of the technical activities for the proper conduct of the elections,” he said.

He added that he knows what a political decision of the ruling coalition means and what its consequences are.

„I know what a political decision of the ruling coalition means and what its consequences are, but I am afraid that the example that will be given with me will lead to the weakening of some activities that the other state authorities have to carry out in the conduct of the electoral process, and an acting chair of the Standing Electoral Authority I do not think is the best solution for the authority to be able to exercise its powers, as provided for in the law.”

Grebla added that some of the powers regard the control of the financing of electoral campaigns by political parties.

„The first requests for the resignation of the chairman of the Standing Electoral Authority appeared after the authority decided not to combine the election to the European Parliament and local elections. The authority put forth a different schedule to the Government. and, after the confiscation of sums of money from political competitors, from political parties, ranging from RON 5 million to RON 25 million , now the Standing Electoral Authority has completed the control for the political competitors who declared income and expenses in the campaign for the President of Romania last year and will confiscate – because the documents are in the process of being approved – over RON 20 million from political competitors. Given the circumstances, I don’t know if it is normal for me to be judged here by the parties, by the representatives of the political parties t whose financial activity I check and, sometimes, when improprieties are found, the amounts so found are confiscated.”

The AEP chairman also said that he did not use the name of any political competitor.

„We are in the pre-electoral campaign time, and through the statements I am making now, I would not want, in any case, to influence the conduct of the electoral campaign, but I am talking about public documents that are already on the website of the Standing Electoral Authority,” he said.

The judiciary committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate issued a report on the adoption on Friday of the request for the dismissal of Grebla. The report is to be put to the vote at a joint plenary session of Parliament also on Friday.

AGERPRES