On 22 June 2016 the Romanian Constitutional Court found that the Law on the status of local elected officials, which allowed elected officials with suspended prison sentence to keep office, was unconstitutional. The Court acted upon a referral from the Romanian president. Initially the President returned the law to the Parliament but the legislative body failed to amend the controversial provisions. According to the Court, allowing convicted elected officials to keep their office brings prejudice to the integrity and responsibility of the public office. The President argued that the law was incompatible with the rule of law principle, undermined public trust and hindered efforts to fight against corruption. According to media reports, 61 mayors received suspended prison sentences last year and Bucharest’s general mayor and six district mayors were arrested under corruption-related charges.

Read more at Euractiv (in Romanian)and Radio Romania International (in English)and check out our country profile pages for details of current and past electoral and citizenship laws in Romania.