Why Dominic Fritz’s candidacy violates Romanian law

Dominic Fritz remains an enigma for the political scene in Romania, because he has never demonstrated where he lives. After 4 years since he became mayor, Dominic Fritz announces on social networks that, on April 29, 2024, he received his permanent residence card.

“My permanent residence card just arrived,” Fritz announced on April 29, 2024, when he submitted his application.

That is, the day he received this permanent residence card he decided to apply. But according to Romanian legislation, Fritz’s candidacy is not legal, as lawyer Elena Radu explained.

What does Romanian law say?

Elena Radu analyzed the legislation in Romania regarding local elections, but also the guidelines that the Central Electoral Bureau publishes before the elections. This shows that Dominic Fritz does not comply with the legislation of our country, but the Timiș Electoral Office accepts his candidacy. In order for a Romanian or EU citizen to run for local elections in Romania, he must be domiciled in the locality where he wants to run, states law 115/2015, analyzed by Elena Radu.

“- Article 5 para. (1) and (2):

“(1) Citizens of the European Union who have their domicile or residence in Romania have the right to elect and be elected UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS AS ROMANIAN CITIZENS, with the fulfillment of the provisions of this law. (2) Citizens of the European Union have the right to be elected to the position of local councilor and county councilor, mayor or president of the county council.”

– Article 4 para. (1) and (2):

“(1) Citizens with the right to vote who have reached the age of at least 23 up to and including election day have the right to be elected councilors, mayors or presidents of county councils, if they are not prohibited from joining political parties , according to art. 40 para. (3) from the Constitution of Romania, republished.

(2) ONLY persons who are RESIDENT on the territory of the administrative-territorial unit in which they are to be elected may apply.”

Article 56 paragraph (1) “Citizens of the European Union can apply in the administrative-territorial unit in which THEY HAVE RESIDENCE. Candidate proposals are SUBMITTED UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS AS FOR ROMANIAN CITIZENS,” says Elena Radu.

Dominic Fritz announces, in April 2024, that he received the permanent residence card, which does not mean domicile. He may be domiciled in Germany and resident in Romania.

The judges did not check Fritz’s documents

Dominic Fritz did not prove even in 2020 that he was domiciled in Timișoara. There was also a trial in which the validation of Dominic Fritz’s mandate was challenged, but the Timișoara Court of Appeal considered that Fritz’s situation could no longer be analyzed since the Timiș Electoral Bureau validated his candidacy.

“From the considerations of this decision, it appears that the reasoning of the Court was that once validated as a candidate, because the candidacy could be contested according to the law, upon validation as mayor, the eligibility conditions that were taken into account at the time of accepting the candidacy can no longer be analyzed and as there were no changes between the moment of submitting the candidacy and that of the validation as mayor, having his RESIDENCE also in Timișoara, the reasons relating to Dominic Fritz’s lack of Romanian citizenship and domicile can no longer be invoked in the procedure for validating the election of the mayor, because have become final res judicata, so it can no longer be subject to the control of legality exercised by the higher court”, says lawyer Elena Radu.

The judges show that the Electoral Office had to check whether Fritz’s candidacy was legal, when the USR-ist submitted his documents. But even the Timișoara Court of Appeal judges showed that, from the submitted documents, Dominic Fritz only resided in Romania in 2020.

“This being, at the time of submitting the candidacy and at present, a German citizen, member of the European Union, residing in Timișoara, aspects resulting from the registration certificate”, specifies the Timișoara Court of Appeal, according to the decision presented by Elena Radu.

The case of Dominic Fritz is unique in Romania, because in the last 4 years he has avoided presenting his documents. Even the Timișoara City Council forced Fritz to present his identity documents and show where he lives, but the USR mayor defied CL’s decision and went into hiding. He has been hiding his documents for 4 years.

The Electoral Office recognizes that Fritz is not domiciled in Timișoara

Lawyer Elena Radu also presented a case from the Constitutional Court, where the judges refused the candidacy of a Romanian citizen in a locality just for the simple fact that he was not domiciled in that locality. CCR informed the Romanian citizen that he can only run if he is domiciled in the locality where he wants to run for local elections and that this condition also applies to citizens of the European Union.

“I also find a decision of the CCR (no. 580/2022), of an “indigenous” (Romanian citizen) who complained that it was unconstitutional art. 4 para. (2) from Law no. 115/2015, motivated by the fact that it is conditioned to have domicile (excluding residence) within the administrative-territorial radius of the locality where the candidacy for the position of mayor or local councilor is submitted and that it is a discrimination between Romanian citizens and European citizens.

He sent the CCR for a walk telling him that “the legal provisions subject to constitutionality control establish a condition regarding the right to run for elective public positions at the level of local public administration authorities, establishing the obligation of candidates to have their DOMICILE on the territory of the administrative-territorial unit in who are to be elected”, and art. 4 para. (2) from Law no. 115/2015 “APPLIES, WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS, TO ALL PERSONS, ROMANIAN CITIZENS AND CITIZENS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION who are running for a locally elected position.”

It’s his bad luck that he didn’t have the same people in the electoral district office that Fritz had, that they didn’t get confused with these details of domicile…residence”, says Elena Radu.

Even in 2024, the Electoral Office from Timiș specifies that Dominic Fritz has his residence in Timișoara, not his domicile (photo below). So based on Romanian legislation, Dominic Fritz cannot run for local elections. However, the Electoral Bureau does not take into account Romanian legislation or the decisions of the Constitutional Court.

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