October 24 (SeeNews) - Romania's prime minister-designate and leader of National Liberal Party (PNL), Ludovic Orban, said on Thursday he and his government will seek a vote of confidence in parliament on October 30.
PNL plans to forward its draft governance programme to the lawmakers on Monday, while on Tuesday, October 29 parliament commissions will hold hearings of all proposed government ministers, Orban said in a public letter to parliament.
The draft governance programme is focused on stimulating investment and reducing budget deficit.
According to another document sent to parliament, the Orban cabinet will have 16 ministries instead of 24 of the ousted Social Democrat cabinet led by Viorica Dancila.
PNL deputy chairman Raluca Turcan has been nominated for deputy prime minister, while former economic analyst Florin Citu has been proposed for the position of finance minister.
Virgil-Daniel Popescu, currently vice-president of the National Council of Small and Medium Private Enterprises is PNL's proposal for the economy, energy, business and tourism portfolio.
Since his appointment by president Klaus Iohannis as prime minister-designate on October 15, Ludovic Orban has been negotiating with other parties in order to win their support for his cabinet in parliament.
Currently, he is backed by Union Save Romania (USR), Liberal-Democrat Alliance (ALDE), The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and Popular Movement Party (PMP), according to local media reports.
Pro Romania, the party of former prime minister Victor Ponta, has announced that it will not back Orban's cabinet.
In order to win the vote, the Orban cabinet needs at least 233 votes.
On October 10, the Social-Democrat government lost a no-confidence vote requested by PNL. The Liberals called for the ousting of the Dancila government, accusing it of incompetence.
The Social Democrat Party (PSD) holds 206 of 465 seats in parliament. PNL has 94 MPs, Union Save Romania (USR) holds 40, Popular Movement Party (PMP) has 12 MPs, Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) holds 30 seats and Pro Romania has 39 seats. The remaining seats are occupied by 17 MPs representing minorities, and by 27 independent MPs.
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