Serban Nicolae - PSD candidate for Senate leadership

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) Senate group designated, on Tuesday, through vote, Serban Nicolae to run for the Senate's leadership.

In favor of the proposal were 35 Social Democrats, and 26 stood against, PSD senator Florian Bodog mentioned.

The group elections took place in two rounds. The first tour saw Serban Nicolae, Titus Corlatean and Radu Stefan Oprea running, while the second featured the best ranked candidates, Serban Nicolae and Radu Stefan Oprea.

The committee of the leaders of the Senate political groups decided on Monday that the new president of the upper chamber of the Legislative be elected in the plenary session on Wednesday.

On February 2, at the start of the session, Teodor Melescanu resigned from the helm of the Senate after the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) decided, on January 22, that his election is unconstitutional.

On February 2, the plenary also voted to vacate the position of Senate president.

At the beginning of the session, after Melescanu's resignation, the PSD announced that it supports Titus Corlatean to take over the attributions as Senate president, the National Liberal Party (PNL) designated Alina Gorghiu, while Save Romania Union (USR) designated Vlad Alexandrescu.

Presently, Corlatean is the Deputy President that is temporarily fulfilling the duties as president of Parliament's upper chamber.

According to the rules, the Senate president is elected, through secret vote, with bulletins that feature, in descending order by size of parliamentary group, the name and surname of all the candidates proposed by the leaders of the parliamentary groups. Each parliamentary group can make a single proposal. If a candidate wins the vote of the majority of senators in the first round he is declared Senate president. If in the first round none of the candidates have the votes of the majority of the senators, a second round is organized in which the best ranked two candidates of the first round participate. AGERPRES