APD addresses an appeal to the political parties, especially to PSD, to show a rational and responsible attitude, so that the impasse the legislative procedure is in now may be overcome. APD is concerned about the fact that the electoral code committee activity is obstructed by a series of politicians, party members who have been mandated to participate in the process of negotiation and drawing up of the uninominal vote draft law, according to a communique released by the Association. APD points out the fact that the ultimate aim of these actions doesn't seem to be the reform of the voting procedure, nor that of the electoral system, but the status quo of the current situation. Ponta has withdrawn from the Electoral Committee "I have announced my colleagues in the party leadership today that I withdraw from the Committee. I have told my colleagues the reasons. I do not wish to make them public". (Victor Ponta) Stanciu's opinion PSD Deputy Anghel Stanciu, member of the Committee for the drawing up of the Electoral Code, claimed yesterday that the electoral system the APD supported was "derived from the German and the Italian ones, was unique in the world, not applied anywhere and couldn't be anything else but an experiment at the expense of the Romanian people". PSD members' boycott The trans-party agreement to support the APD project on the introduction of the uninominal vote has been violated by PSD from the very first meetings of the Electoral Code Committee. Disagreeing with the position of Deputy Victor Ponta, the only one who has invoked the observance of the initial arrangement, Social-Democrats Anghel Stanciu and Eugen Nicolicea have used all the tricks to delay the debates and to block the voting in the Committee. The two PSD members pretended that the APD project, by its provisions on a joint vote system by compensation, allows the access into the Parliament of the "scamps". In a first stage, the PSD members have accepted the joint vote, but have insisted for the introduction of the party lists as a method of compensating the mandates. Later on, they have denied the validity of the principle already voted and have insisted for the adoption of their own version: pure uninominal vote for electing the members of the Senate House and mixed vote for electing the members of the Chamber of Deputies. At the latest meeting of the committee, the PSD position led to the suspension of the debates and to a total blockage of the uninominal vote.

Anca HRIBAN, Raluca PAPADOPOL