President of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP) Adrian Tutuianu told a joint meeting of Parliament's legal committees on Tuesday that roughly half of the institution's employees had not been hired through a competitive examination, arguing that this makes reform difficult.

Discussing a new organizational regulation for the Authority, Tutuianu said many employees had entered the institution through a procedure under which they were first hired by a parliamentary group for one or two days and then transferred to the AEP.

'I want this Permanent Electoral Authority to become a benchmark for best practices and to have staff with an adequate level of professional training,' Tutuianu told lawmakers. 'Half of those employed by the AEP have never taken a competition exam. They used a procedure we all know, and I myself am familiar with, as a former lawmaker: hiring by a parliamentary group for one or two days and then transferring them into the AEP structure.'

'I cannot endorse this and try to carry out a reform with people who have not gone through professional stages in a clear manner and where we cannot be certain they can adequately respond to the challenges we face,' he added.

The joint legal committees discussed the draft regulation submitted by the AEP leadership, with a formal opinion to be issued at a later meeting.

According to Tutuianu, the proposal provides for 395 positions, excluding political appointees and cabinet staff of the president and vice presidents. Of these, 247 positions would be in the central structure and 148 positions in territorial offices.

He noted that the institution's staffing levels have expanded steadily over the years, from 131 employees in 2012 to 269 in 2015, 375 in 2019, and 575 positions in 2020 and 2024 across both central and local structures. Of the 575 positions, 407 are currently filled.

'Today the number of positions in the AEP's central and local structures is 575: 280 at headquarters and 295 in the territorial structures,' Tutuianu said. 'Our proposal is to have 247 positions in the central structure and 148 in the territorial structures, meaning a reduction of 147 positions overall.'

He stressed that most of the downsizing had already occurred through voluntary departures, leaving only 34 positions above the target level.

The AEP chief said the reorganization was designed in line with the Administrative Code, structuring the institution into departments, directorates-general, directorates, services and offices.

Under the plan, the central apparatus would lose 30 execution positions and three management positions. The proposal would also eliminate 12 parliamentary-style management posts of director and deputy director while creating nine lower-level management positions, including heads of service and office-level functions.

The overhaul of territorial structures would involve significant reductions, including the elimination of 105 execution positions and 42 management positions, mainly director posts. Tutuianu said each territorial structure would ultimately have three or four executive positions.

He added that once the reorganization is completed, the institution will organize competitive recruitment procedures for vacant positions. In county offices where staff numbers exceed the limits established by the regulation, examinations will be held within two months after approval of the regulation.

The process, he said, would be conducted 'in the most transparent way possible,' with union representatives participating.

Tutuianu also cited the Authority's recent workload, noting that it had inspected all 276 registered political parties this year for the 2023, 2024 and 2025 financial years. At the same time, employees took more than 16,000 days of annual leave, including leave carried over from previous years.

'Even so, we managed to fulfill our duties honorably,' he said.

According to Tutuianu, the institution would not have been able to comply with the personnel spending limits imposed by Government Ordinance 7/2026 without 47-48 voluntary departures and another 47 employees who suspended their service relations.

He also warned that the previous AEP regulation, approved through Resolution 3/2024 of Parliament's standing bureaus, had been challenged in court and annulled at first instance, creating the risk that the institution could soon be left without a legal organizational framework.

Union leader Mihaita Voicu, who heads the AEP employees' union, urged lawmakers to reject the draft regulation, arguing that it is 'neither necessary nor appropriate.'

'The Permanent Electoral Authority, instead of consolidating itself and attracting young personnel, is losing experienced civil servants,' Voicu said. He warned that the project could weaken the institution's ability to carry out its mission ahead of the demanding 2028-2040 electoral cycle, when elections are expected to take place almost every year.

Voicu said the AEP currently operates with about 310 employees, with another 35 expected to leave, while the proposal would cut territorial positions by around 50%.

He argued that the institution had already demonstrated since April 2026 that it could meet the personnel expenditure reductions required by Ordinance 7 and said staffing differences between county offices had historical and administrative explanations.

The union representative also criticized the plan for sharply reducing territorial structures while largely preserving the central organizational framework. He noted that county offices employ specialists responsible for monitoring political party financing and said that expertise should remain within the institution.

'In the name of the civil servants we represent, we ask you to reject this project. It is neither necessary nor appropriate,' Voicu said.

Debate on the draft regulation was ultimately postponed to allow lawmakers additional time to review the proposal, the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' Legal Committee, Bogdan Ciuca, announced. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Alina Novaceanu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)