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2018 Romanian constitutional referendum

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Romanian constitutional referendum, 2018
6 and 7 October 2018
Do you agree with the Law on the revision of the Romanian Constitution in the form adopted by the Parliament?[1]
Results by county

A referendum will take place in Romania on 6 and 7 October 2018 about whether to change the definition of the family as provided by Article 48 of the Romanian Constitution, aiming to rule out a potential future attempt to legalize the same-sex marriage.[2] The referendum follows a citizens' initiative launched by Coaliția pentru Familie (the Coalition for Family) in late 2015, which gathered over three million signatures in support of the referendum, substantially more than the 500,000 required to initiate a constitutional amendment referendum. At present, the Romanian Constitution defines the family as the free-willed marriage "between spouses",[3] but the initiative's promoters want to amend it to state that a family is the union between a man and a woman. The measure would thus make same-sex marriages unconstitutional in Romania.[4]

The amendment is supported by most politicians and many religious groups, but opposed by President Klaus Iohannis and the opposition Save Romania Union.

Background

The Government announced plans to hold a referendum in the fall of 2017, following a successful citizens' initiative by a group opposed to same-sex marriage, Coaliția pentru Familie, which collected around 3 million signatures in support of banning same-sex marriage.[5] The Chamber of Deputies approved the initiative on 9 May 2017, in a 232-22 vote.[6] However, no referendum took place that year.

In late March 2018, the Government announced that the referendum would be held sometime in May 2018,[7] though it later moved the date to 10 June 2018.[8] However, this date also passed without a referendum being held. Some Socialist lawmakers subsequently suggested that the referendum could be held in late September or early October 2018.[9][10] Liviu Dragnea, President of the Chamber of Deputies, announced that the referendum could be organized on 30 September or the first Sunday in October.[11] In early September, Dragnea announced that the referendum would take place on 7 October 2018.[12] The initiative was approved by the Senate on 11 September 2018.[13] On 14 September, Amnesty International, the European Commission on Sexual Orientation Law and ILGA-Europe filed a challenge with the Constitutional Court against the amendment.[14][15] On 17 September 2018, the Court decided to allow the referendum to take place.[16][17]

Most recent referendums in Romania have failed due to a requirement for a 50% turnout for the results to be valid.[18][19] However, new rules adopted in 2014 only require 30% of registered voters to participate in the referendum and 25% of voters to cast a valid (yes/no) vote for the result to be validated.[18]

Support and opposition

The amendment is supported by many religious groups, including neo-Protestant groups,[20] and the Romanian Greek Catholic Church.[21] The Romanian Orthodox Church endorsed the initiative in mid-January 2016.[22][23]

Few politicians openly support civil partnerships or same-sex marriage in Romania. Exceptions include centrist-liberal President Klaus Iohannis, an ethnic German (Transylvanian Saxon), who has said that as a member of an ethnic and religious minority, he supports tolerance and openness towards others who are different while rejecting religious fanaticism and ultimatums.[24] The opposition Save Romania Union (USR) also held an internal vote on the issue and decided to oppose the referendum.[25] The Romania Together Movement, led by former Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș, advised its supporters not to participate in the referendum, as it would limit rights and freedoms.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Comunicat de presă - ședință de guvern - Guvernul a adoptat actele normative necesare bunei organizări a Referendumului pentru revizuirea Constituției". Guvernul României (in Romanian). 18 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Romania moves closer to ruling out possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage". Reuters. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  3. ^ "ARTICLE 48 - Family". Constitution of Romania. Chamber of Deputies. The family is founded on the freely consented marriage of the spouses
  4. ^ Irina Marica (26 March 2018). "Romania to organize referendum against same-sex marriages in May". Romania-Insider.com.
  5. ^ Marica, Irina (2017-09-04). "Romanian SocDem leader: Referendum for family redefinition to be organized this fall". Romania Insider. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
  6. ^ Initiative changing family definition in Romanian Constitution, voted by the deputies
  7. ^ "Referendumul pentru familie, probabil în mai, în paralel cu legiferarea parteneriatului civil". Digi 24 (in Romanian). 26 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Propunere: Referendumul pentru redefinirea familiei, pe 10 iunie". Digi 24 (in Romanian). 3 May 2018.
  9. ^ "PSD renunță la marele miting din luna iunie. Când ar putea avea, totuși, loc". Digi 24. 13 May 2018.
  10. ^ Romania: PSD head announces referendum on amending the Constitution, Independent Balkan News Agency, 25 July 2018
  11. ^ "Liviu Dragnea anunță referendum pentru modificarea Constituției. Când ar putea fi chemați românii la vot". Digi 24 (in Romanian). 24 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Referendum privind redefinirea familiei în Constituţie, pe 7 octombrie".
  13. ^ Romania moves closer to ruling out same-sex marriage
  14. ^ Legal challenge over Romania’s ‘homophobic’ gay marriage referendum
  15. ^ Romania: Rights groups submit legal challenge against ‘homophobic’ referendum
  16. ^ Romania to hold vote on whether to permanently ban gay marriage
  17. ^ Romanian court gives go ahead for 'homophobic' referendum
  18. ^ a b "De câte voturi este nevoie pentru aprobarea unui referendum". Digi24HD (in Romanian). 23 January 2017.
  19. ^ Referendum for Referendums by Corneliu Visoianu, Romania’s Constitutional Court invalidated the ballot as it did not reach the 50% threshold required by law.
  20. ^ "Penticostalii susţin Coaliţia pentru Familie, dar critică Arhiepiscopia Tomisului. Membrii cultului, îndemnaţi să ia totuşi parte la Marşul pentru Viaţă". antena3.ro. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Scrisoare deschisă a Episcopilor catolici: Susţinerea demersului de declanşare a referendumului pentru modificarea art. 48, alin. 1 din Constituţia României". Coaliția pentru Familie. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  22. ^ Stanca, Adriana (15 January 2016). "BOR sprijină OFICIAL iniţiativa de modificare a Constituţiei: familia, formată din BĂRBAT şi FEMEIE". realitatea.net. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  23. ^ "Romania moves closer to ruling out possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage". Reuters. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  24. ^ Raluca Pancu (19 October 2016). "Iohannis, mesaj pentru cei care vor redefinirea „familiei" în Constituție: E greșit să mergem pe calea fanatismului religios". Gândul (in Romanian).
  25. ^ "Biroul Național al USR a validat rezultatul referendumului intern; partidul se va opune modificării Constituției pentru redefinirea familiei". News.ro (in Romanian). 14 August 2017.
  26. ^ "Mișcarea România Împreună nu girează, prin participare, referendumul pentru familie". Mișcarea România Împreună (in Romanian). 12 September 2018.
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