The secret not secret

If we take the Social-Democrats' bill against the government as a mere democratic exercise and we don't insist on the political mechanism that made Mircea Geoana open this procedure, we should normally consider the means of voting. According to the regulation of the two Chambers, the fundamental law on the Parliament, the voting that may decide to overthrow the Tariceanu Cabinet must be secret. But it would not be the first time a secret has turned into no secret by organized means. So what is the voting with ballots, in fact ? Is this a legal solution? Or is it a gross break of the regulation ? And is it also a test on disdain for electors ?
Sources from within the PSD (Social-Democrat Party) speak about tensions emerging because of Mircea Geoana's bill against the government, an initiative most of the party leaders have joined unenthusiastically. There is a first split between this staff, dominated by the representatives of local party branches, and the body that will in the end obey the political order coming after the start of the operation meant to dismiss the 2nd Tariceanu government. This body, meaning the reunited groups, is made of PSD parliamentarians only. The split has emerged because when they agreed to Mircea Geoana's initiative the MPs played a minor part. Most of them were simply ignored. And still it is them who will help the bill pass or be dismissed, after all. If all the senators and deputies representing the PSD, the PD (Democrat Party) and the PLD (Liberal Democrat Party) vote for it, there will be enough votes and the government will collapse. But the score will be very tight anyway. At least 5 PSD members are sure to be absent, because they are sick. And such cases are also likely with the PD and the PLD. And we must count those who will disobey the party decision as well. Ion Iliescu may be one of them. He has been against the bill so far, but when the voting time came he refrained.
Therefore the battle will be tight. Given this, I am convinced that, in order to have control on its MPs, the PSD will decide that the secret voting will be no secret: ballots used in the open. And more parties will probably do the same.
But is the ballot voting legal ? This is a common sense question the regulation answers negatively. The secret voting is not a right of the Parliament, but an obligation. Under certain circumstances, the secret voting guarantees citizens that the MPs they elected express themselves freely, under no constraint, that they may use the right to decide and vote in keeping with their own beliefs, with no party leaders forcing them into placing one ballot or the other into the urn. Had citizens' will been different from the one mentioned above, it would have been pointless to allow for secret voting under certain circumstances.
An overt law break that validates itself is a habit only in Romania and in such cases antecedents replace the law. It would not be the first time when, taking the orders from the party staff, the MPs break the Parliament regulation. And it would neither be the first time when the lawman there ignores it instead of annulling all such votes. Such a habit must normally be done away with. I am convinced both civil society and the Constitutional Court should take firm action, as this bill against the government is a good opportunity for it.

Sorin Rosca Stanescu
Ziua Sambata 22 Septembrie 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english