Acting President Ilie Bolojan met on Monday with representatives of the institutions and public authorities responsible for organizing the presidential elections in May, with talks also focusing on the upcoming European Council meeting.

„We will discuss a little on issues related to our current affairs and the European Council meeting in the second part of the week. Thank you for responding to the invitation to meet today,” said Bolojan at the beginning of the meeting, according to the images published by the Presidential Administration.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Deputy Prime Ministers Marian Neacsu and Catalin Predoiu, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ana Cristina Tinca, interim president of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Zsombor Vajda, vice president of the National Audiovisual Council, Valentin Alexandru Jucan, the president of the National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications, Valeriu Zgonea, the president of the National Council for Combating Discrimination, Csaba Ferenc Asztalos, and the deputy director general of the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC), Gabriel Dinu.

Also present are presidential adviser Luminita Odobescu and state counselor Bianca Firezar.

The presidential adviser for national security, Cristian Diaconescu, told private broadcaster Digi 24 on Sunday evening, that the purpose of the meeting at the Cotroceni (Presidential Palace) is inter-institutional coordination in preparation for the May elections.

At the first press conference held after taking office, interim president Ilie Bolojan gave assurances that he will do „everything possible to ensure that these elections are organized fairly, transparently, that they are free elections, so that Romanians, in full knowledge of the facts, can cast their vote and choose the president they want”.

The period for submitting candidacies for the May presidential elections to the Central Electoral Bureau has ended. On Thursday, March 20, the candidacies for the presidential elections become final.

On April 4 the election campaign starts and ends on May 3 at 07:00.

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

As regards the European Council meeting, interim President Ilie Bolojan said earlier that he will discuss with government representatives so as to reach an agreement on the topics to be discussed.

„The European Council has both defence and economic, competitiveness and energy price issues. A consultation between the Presidency and the Government is mandatory, so that our country can have convergent positions. And if the representative of our country, in this case the president of Romania, assumes some responsibilities, those things should then be put into practice by the Government,” Bolojan told a press conference held on Friday at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.

AGERPRES