February 1 (SeeNews) - Opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) and Save Romania Union said on Wednesday they filed a censure motion against the government over a decree alleviating or eliminating penalties for corruption offences that has triggered massive protests all over the country.
The censure motion was backed by a total of 124 MPs from right-wing PNL and centre-right USR with the two parties also counting on support from opposition centre-right Popular Movement Party (PMP), PNL leader Raluca Turcan said in a televised statement.
Earlier, Turcan urged the other parties in parliament to leave it and thus trigger early elections.
Romania's coalition government comprising left-wing Social Democrat Party (PSD) and centre-right Liberal-Democrat Alliance (ALDE) has majority in parliament. PSD and ALDE have 221 and 29 seats, respectively, in the 463 seat parliament.
PNL has 99 MPs, USR has 43 and PMP has 26. MPs from PNL, USR and PMP together protested for five minutes during the plenary session of the lower house of parliament on Wednesday.
The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), which backs PSD-ALDE government, has 30 seats. Despite its support, UDMR criticized the government actions on Wednesday.
The censure motion must be debated in a plenary session of parliament within five days after it was submitted. A vote must be held within three days after that.
Some PSD members such as ex-minister delegate for social dialogue and the relationship with civil society in 2014, Aurelia Cristea, resigned from the party in disagreement over the decree.
PSD said that it summoning all of its regional leaders in Bucharest on Thursday in order to discuss the heightened tensions in the country and decide whether the party will organize counter protests.
The emergency decree, approved by the government on Tuesday night and hastily published in the country's Official Gazette, decriminalises several graft offences, making abuse of office punishable by jail terms only if that offence has resulted in a loss of more than 200,000 lei ($47,500/44,000 euro). The government also decided on Tuesday to send to parliament a draft pardon bill which, if adopted, will set free prison inmates serving sentences of up to five years for non-violent crimes including corruption.
Some 50,000 people protested on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in Bucharest and other Romanian cities against the government decree seen as an attempt to weaken the fight against corruption and help several politicians avoid criminal prosecution on graft charges.
Protests were still ongoing on Wednesday at 17.30 CET in Piata Victoriei square, in front of the government headquarters.
On Wednesday, the country's national council of magistrates CSM challenged the decree in the Constitutional Court.
Justice Minister Florin Iordache said that the two decrees are meant to help free up some space in the country's overcrowded jails. "We have adopted this text to bring the legislation in line with the decisions of the constitutional court," he said at a news conference on Tuesday night.
A protest march organised by opposition Save Romanian Union (USR) party refuted Iordache's statements on Wednesday. USR members carried slogans reading 'Shame!'.
Also on Wednesday, the European Commission expressed concern over Romania weakening its fight against corruption.
"The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone. We are following the latest developments in Romania with great concern," European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and his deputy, Frans Timmermans, said in a joint statement. "The Commission warns against backtracking and will look thoroughly at the emergency ordinance on the Criminal Code and the Law on Pardons in this light."
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