BUCHAREST, March 4 -- The Romanian parliament on Tuesday approved changes to the current voting system from choosing party lists to selecting individual candidates from each district.

       The system which has been in place since 1989 was sharply criticized by the public because elected legislators were often not seen to have a direct responsibility toward constituents, their needs and the communities they represented.

       The new bill says a lawmaker for the Chamber of Deputies will be chosen from a constituency with 70,000 voters and a senator from a constituency with 160,000 voters.

       The bill needs to be signed into law by President Traian Basescu before it comes into force.

       Romania is preparing for local elections in the spring and parliamentary elections in the autumn.