Romanian far-right to administer lie detector tests to prove loyalty before election

5 months ago 23

Local leaders and potential candidates from the far-right AUR party will be required to take a lie detector test to verify their loyalty to the party before the 9 June elections.

According to Dan Tănasă, the party’s spokesperson, local leaders and the candidates are expected in Bucharest for polygraph tests, with the first being carried out Monday.

It will serve as an “integrity test” to showcase the party’s commitment to transparency before the electorate while also scrutinising the loyalty of its members, Dan Tănasă told Romania’s B1 TV on Monday morning. “When you go to war, you have to ensure team cohesion”, Tănasă explained.

The proposal to conduct such tests came from the National Management Office, party leader George Simion revealed on Sunday.

“I plan to dedicate at least the next two weeks to travelling across the country, meeting all our candidates, and validating their credentials to prevent any potential embarrassments,” Simion said on social media.

Simion downplayed concerns surrounding the initiative.

“In my experience, those exhibiting fear, reluctance, or resistance are typically the traitors, individuals who prove unreliable in times of need”, he said.

According to Simion, the lie detector tests would help identify potential “infiltrators”, including those affiliated with intelligence services. “We just can’t directly ask for their service card,” the AUR leader elaborated on Realitatea Plus TV, adding that not having them would be “very strange.”

The decision comes amid a controversy involving one of AUR’s founders, Marius Lulea, who was suspended for disagreeing with Simion’s proposal to support Cozmin Gușă, a former PSD member and media mogul whose candidacy for Bucharest mayor had sparked unrest within the party.

Lulea publicly criticised Gușă and affirmed AUR’s support for Mihai Enache, the party’s designated candidate in 2023.

“Mr. Lulea’s remarks were unfortunate… he has been suspended, but not expelled from the party”, Tănasă said on Monday.

(Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)