The local council and the mayor

• Author: Catalin-Silviu Sararu
• Profession: PhD, is Associate Professor at the Law Department of Bu-charest University of Economic Studies
• Pages: 154-156

Chapter XVIII

The local council and the mayor

1. The local council

The local councils are constituted as deliberative authorities through

which the local autonomy is realized in communes, cities and municipalities [art.

121(1) of the Constitution].

Local councils, together with mayors, function, according to the law, as

autonomous administrative authorities and solve public affairs in communes, cit-

ies and municipalities [art. 106 (3) of the Administrative Code].

The local council is a collegiate body of the local public administration,

as opposed to the mayor, which is a one-person body.

The local council is elected for a term of 4 years, which can be extended,

by organic law, in case of war or catastrophe (art. 128 of the Administrative

Code).

In the exercise of the mandate, the local councilors are at the service of

the local community. Local councilors are required to carry out regular meetings

with citizens in order to fulfill their mandate and to grant hearings.

1.1. Election of local councilors

Local councils and mayors are elected under the conditions provided by

the Law no. 115/2015 for the election of the authorities of the loca l public ad-

ministration.

Local councils are elected by universal, equal, direct, secret and freely

expressed vote, on electoral constituencies, on the basis of the list vote, according

to the principle of proportional representation [art. 1(2) and (3) of the Law no.

115/2015].

According to the provisions by art. 3 of the Law no. 115/2015 have the

right to choose the Romanian citizens who have reached the age of 18, including

those who reach this age on the day of the elections, following that the right to

vote will be exercised only in the commune, the city, the municipality or the ad-

ministrative-territorial subdivision of the municipality. where the voter has his

domicile or residence, as the case may be. Also, according to the provisions by

art. 5 of the Law no. 115/2015 the citizens of the European Union who have their

domicile or residence in Romania have the right to choose and to be elected under

the same conditions as the Romanian citizens, with the fulfillment of the provi-

sions of this law. The citizens of the European Union have the right to be elected

as mayor, local councilor and county councilor.