Chamber of Deputies (Romania)

Chamber of Deputies
Camera Deputaților
7th Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
History
Founded 1862
Leadership
Florin Iordache (interim), PSD
Since 13 June 2016
Structure
Seats 357
Political groups
Elections
1992–2008: Closed list, D'Hondt method
2008–2016: nominal vote, Mixed member proportional representation
since 2016: Closed list, D'Hondt method
Last election
 9 December 2012
Next election
 11 December 2016
Meeting place
Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest
Website
cdep.ro

The Chamber of Deputies (Romanian: Camera Deputaților) is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 412 seats (as of 9 December 2012, after the next legislative elections 330[1]), to which deputies were elected by direct popular vote in single-member electoral districts using mixed member proportional representation (at the next elections using closed list party-list proportional representation[1]) to serve four-year terms. Additionally, the organisation of each national minority is entitled to a seat in the Chamber (under the limitation that a national minority is to be represented by one organisation only).

Leadership and structure

Standing Bureau

The (Romanian: Biroul Permanent) is the body elected by the deputies that rules the Chamber. Its President is the President of the Chamber, and he/she is elected for a whole legislature (usually four years). All the other members are elected at the beginning of each parliamentary session.

There is one President, and four of each: Vicepresidents, Quaestors and Secretaries. The current composition is listed below.

Function Name Group Incumbent since
President Florin Iordache PSD June 2016
Vice-Presidents Ioan Oltean PD-L December 2008
Adrian Năstase PSD December 2008
Valeriu Zgonea PSD September 2010
Marian Sârbu UNPR February 2011
Secretaries Dumitru Pardău PD-L December 2008
Niculae Mircovici Minorities February 2011
Georgian Pop PSD September 2010
Mihai Voicu PNL December 2008
Quaestors Gheorghe Albu PD-L December 2008
Nicolae Bănicioiu PSD December 2008
Dan Motreanu PNL + PC December 2008
Dénes Seres UDMR September 2009

Committees of the Chamber

Standing committees and current leadership are listed below.

Committee President Group Incumbent since
Committee for Economic Policy, Reform, and Privatization Horia Grama PSD 17 Feb. 2015
Committee for Budget, Finance, and, Banks Viorel Ștefan PSD 17 Sep. 2014
Committee for Industries and Services Iulian Iancu PSD
Committee for Industries and Services Iulian Iancu PSD
Committee for Transport and Infrastructure Mihai Lupu PNL 10 Feb. 2014
Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, Food Industry and Specific Services Nini Săpunaru PNL 9 Sep. 2010
Committee for Human Rights, Cults and National Minorities Issues Nicolae Păun Minorities
Committee for Public Administration and Territorial Planning Marin Almăjanu PNL
Environment and Ecological Balance Carmen Moldovan PSD 5 Feb. 2014
Committee for Labour and Social Protection Adrian Solomon PSD 17 Feb. 2015
Committee for Health and Family Florin-Corneliu Buicu PSD 17 Feb. 2015
Committee for Education, Science, Youth, and Sport Adrian-Nicolae Diaconu PSD 3 Mar. 2015
Committee for Culture, Arts, Mass Information Means Gigel-Sorinel Știrbu PNL 4 Mar. 2014
Committee for Legal Matters, Discipline, and Immunities Liviu-Bogdan Ciucă PC-PLR
Committee for Defense, Public Order, and National Security Ion Mocioalcă PSD
Committee for Foreign Policy László Borbély UDMR
Committee for the Investigation of Abuses, Corrupt Practices, and for Petitions Mircea Man PNL 3 Apr. 2013
Committee for Standing Orders Gheorghe Emacu PSD 27 Dec. 2013
Committee for Information Technology and Communications Daniel Vasile Oajdea DP 10 Mar. 2015
Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Ștefan-Petru Dalca DP
Committee for Romanian Communities Living Abroad Mircea Lubanovici PNL 10 Sep. 2013
Committee for European Affairs Ana Birchall PSD 3 Feb. 2015

Party composition

Romania
Coat of arms of Romania
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Romania

2008–2012

 Seats in the Chamber of Deputies of Romania, 6th legislature
Parliamentary Group Election seating Lost Won Present
Seats % Seats %
  Democratic Liberal Party 115 34.43% 29 12 106 37.24%
  Social Democratic Party 114 34.13% 29 2 91 28.53%
  National Liberal Party 65 19.46% 21 6 56 16.22%
  Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania 22 6.59% 2 0 20 6.61%
  Ethnic minorities parties 18 5.39% 2 0 16 5.41%
  National Union for the Progress of Romania — — 16 16 12 6.01%
  Deputies without a group 8 —
  Vacant seats 25 —
Total 334 100 — 334 100

2004–2008

In Romania's 2004 legislative election, held on 28 November, no party won an outright majority. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) won the largest number of seats but is currently in opposition because the Justice and Truth Alliance, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, the Romanian Humanist Party(which later became the Conservative Party), and the National Minorities formed a governing coalition, giving it 177 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (47.9% of the total). The Conservative Party withdrew in December 2006, meaning that the government lost the majority in the Chamber of Deputies.[2] In April 2007 the liberal prime-minister, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, dismissed the Democratic Party ministers from the government and formed a minority government with the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, marking the end of the Justice and Truth Alliance.[3]

During the 2004–2008 legislature, the president of the Chamber of Deputies was Bogdan Olteanu from the National Liberal Party, who was elected on 20 March 2006, after the Chamber's former president, Adrian Năstase, was forced by his own party (the Social Democratic Party, PSD) to step down amidst allegations of corruption.

After the 2004 elections, several deputies from the PSD switched to other parties (including the governing Justice and Truth Alliance) or became independents, with the total number of PSD seats being reduced from 113 to 105. The number of Justice and Truth Alliance deputies also increased from 112 to 118, making it the largest formation in parliament as of October 2006. This changed again in December 2006, leaving the PSD with 107 seats and the Justice and Truth Alliance with 101. Since April 2007 the Justice and Truth Alliance has split leaving the two former members with 51 respectively 50 members. Deputies elected to the European Parliament in the 2007 election resigned, thus reducing the number of deputies to 314 as of 4 December 2007.

A new election was held in 2008. The table below gives the state of play before the 2008 election; parties in bold were part of the governing coalition.[4] That coalition was tacitly supported by the PSD.[5]

Party % of seats Seats
  Social Democratic Party 32.31 105
  Democratic Liberal Party 20.62 67
  National Liberal Party 18.15 59
  Greater Romania Party 6.77 22
  Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania 6.77 22
  Conservative Party 5.85 19
  National Minorities 5.54 18
  Independents 4.00 13
Total 100 325

2000–2004

Elections to the Chamber of Deputies were held on 26 November 2000, in which the Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSD) won plurality. The governing majority was formed from the PSD and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), which, with 182 members, made up 54.8% of seats. The president of the Chamber of Deputies during this period was Valer Dorneanu, who was elected on 15 December 2000. The distribution of seats was as follows:

Party % of seats Seats
PSD 44.93 155
Greater Romania Party 24.35 84
Democratic Party 8.99 31
National Liberal Party 8.70 30
Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania 7.83 27
National Minorities 5.22 18
Total 100 332

Notes

  1. 1 2 Filimon, Paul (20 July 2015). "Legea ALEGERILOR PARLAMENTARE pe LISTE, promulgată de Iohannis". România Liberă (in Romanian).
  2. ↑ Guvern minoritar Archived 15 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. (Minority government), Evenimentul Zilei, 4 December 2006
  3. ↑ "Romania's prime minister names new Cabinet of minority government", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 2 April 2007.
  4. ↑ source
  5. ↑
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