Mihai Fifor asks the president to present evidence regarding the annulment of the elections

The social democrat says that the report makes extremely serious allegations against Romania and cannot be ignored.

„The report of the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives on censorship in the online environment and institutional interference in democratic processes contains extremely serious allegations against Romania, especially in relation to the annulment of the elections. This document cannot be ignored or minimized based on the political affiliation of its authors. It is an official report of the Parliament of Romania’s most important strategic partner and must be treated as such, with maximum responsibility,” Mihai Fifor wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

He argues that the allegations must be clarified clearly and completely.

“Ignoring them or postponing an official response from the Romanian state only fuels suspicions and validates, through silence, the statements made in the American document,” adds Fifor.

He adds that, in this context, the president has the obligation to publicly present the evidence and arguments “that he stated he had regarding the annulment of the elections.”

The Social Democratic Party believes that, in matters that question the validity of the electoral system, state institutions must demonstrate total transparency. The whole truth must be presented to Romanian citizens, because it is about their vote. At stake is the credibility of the electoral system, which is the foundation of democracy in Romania,” the social democrat wrote.

He also points out that the report of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee constitutes “an explicit condemnation of some European Union policies considered to interfere with freedom of expression”: “In the absence of firm official clarifications from the Romanian state, there is a risk that Romania will be caught in the middle of a major transatlantic dispute, with potential political and diplomatic consequences. Rapid, complete and public clarification of these issues is a necessity to protect Romanian democracy and Romania’s external credibility.”

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, led by Republican Jim Jordan, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, published a 160-page report on Tuesday evening accusing the European Commission of interfering in the annulled presidential elections in Romania and of censoring the fundamental right to free expression.