On the poster of a concert with Smiley in Berceni commune, financed by CJ Ilfov, appears the ENEVOIE Association, which carries the message of the liberal candidate for mayor, George Ene, who promotes himself “#Enevoiedeschimbare”

An NGO called “ENEVOIE” Association appeared as a partner at a concert organized on April 27 by the Ilfov County Council in Berceni commune, in the pre-election campaign for the June 9 elections, where Smiley was the headliner. The NGO whose occupation is “social assistance activities” has the PNL colors, blue and yellow, and the name is identical to the wordplay Enevoie, the logo of the PNL candidate Ene George, Enevoiedeschimbare . Ene George is also PNL vice-mayor of Berceni Commune and general secretary of PNL Ilfov, and the County Council is led by the liberal Hubert Thuma.

The name of the association appears on the concert poster in line with the symbol of the County Council, which financed the event with public money, and alongside the other partners: the name of the wine Caii de la Letea, the equestrian center and a grocery store, both from the commune. The name “ENEVOIE”, as well as the other partners, was promoted on the stage screen during the performance. According to totalfirme.ro, the association has 0 employees and a profit of 12,000 lei in 2022.

Asked if he draws electoral capital from the promotion of his message in a masked form of association, the PNL candidate for the Berceni City Hall, George Ene, stated for G4Media that everyone thinks what they want about this subject, but from his point of view the event had no electoral connotations: no handing out leaflets or making speeches on stage.

G4Media contacted the PNL candidate to clarify his connection with the “ENEVOIE” Association and what was his role at the event, given that on his own Facebook page, the PNL candidate thanked “those who supported organization of the event”.

Answer: Did you give thanks as deputy mayor?
George Ene: No, as a local man.

Answer: You are also a candidate for Berceni mayor’s office, right?
George Ene: Yes.

Answer: Is there an “Enevoie” Association among the sponsors?
George Ene: It’s not a sponsor, it’s a partner. He helped organize the event.

Answer: This belongs to you, I guess!
George Ene: Not.

Answer: But you have the same slogan, Change is needed, Enevoie, the association!
George Ene: No, we don’t have the same slogan

Answer: It is similar to Enevoie and Enevoiechange.
George Ene: Someone complained to me and is trying to make a topic out of something that doesn’t exist, it is neither my association nor has anything to do with my slogan. I have another slogan. I will publish it starting May 10th, I can’t divulge it.

Answer: And you don’t see anything electoral between the name of the association and your hashtag.
George Ene: Nothing at all.

Answer: Did PNL participate?
George Ene: PNL did not participate. It’s a concert that was organized on another occasion, it’s not the first edition, it’s a cultural event, nothing more. It was organized last year as well.

Answer: And in what capacity did you participate in the organization?
George Ene: I helped, that’s all.

Answer: I mean voluntary, right?
George Ene: Voluntary. I tried to help the event, because apart from the expenses with the artists, there is a very large amount of work that some volunteers have done and that means a saving in the budget, because if the event had been held with all the people pay then it would have been much more difficult and expensive. And for this reason we tried to help with volunteers, and believe me there were more than 100 volunteers who worked over a week and it turned out perfectly.

Answer: Where do the volunteers come from?
George Ene: From Berceni.

Answer: But the association with your name and hashtag doesn’t bother you, that it is possible to interpret it like that, were there images scrolling on the stage?
George Ene: Everyone thinks what they want about this subject, I tell you that the association was a partner and helped to carry out the event and that’s all. There was no election campaign, no political speeches, no distribution of leaflets, no election advertising, absolutely nothing.

Answer: What did the other partners contribute?
George Ene: Everyone contributed something.

Answer: But of the association (ENEVOIE-n.red) do you know that it contributed support with volunteers?
George Ene: He arranged the parking lots, which the town hall does not do. I mean, you could write this, shame for Berceni commune, that the second edition of the concert in the locality takes place on a hard-to-access road, that the town hall refuses to pave it, even though the street has been closed for 3 years.

He also claimed that the presence of a top artist in a commune does not seem like a financial exaggeration because thanks to him, 70 children from the locality went on stage for whom their parents spend money on cultural activities.

George Ene: Want to promote our event?
Answer: In what way?
George Ene: I mean make it a tradition and happen every year.

Answer: Did you think it was well received by the community?
George Ene: Absolute. That’s why I did it, for the community of Berceni and its surroundings, it was for Ilfov.

Answer: For such small communities, I don’t know if it’s not a waste of resources?
George Ene: You should have come and asked those who attended there, it’s public money, and I think you should have asked them if it was a waste, that was fair play and professional. There were more than 70 children from the locality for whom their parents spend month after month to carry out cultural activities, to learn to sing and dance, and they had the opportunity to be on stage at such an event. I participated in the physical organization of the event, it was not a matter of Berceni town hall.

The concert at which Smiley, the band Azur, Bibi and Liviu Varciu performed was financed by the Ilfov County Council, which in February established a list of events that can be organized in 2024 by the ILFOV County Center for the Conservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture. The event “Berceni – between traditional and modern” enters line 39 of the list of events between January and December with total costs of 1.6 million lei with the aim of supporting local communities in organizing cultural events dedicated to local, national and traditional holidays. G4Media also addressed questions to the County Council related to the costs of the event and the association of the name of the PNL candidate with the name of the company that appeared on the posters and on the stage of the show, and will publish the answer if it is provided, and the information will be relevant to the public.