​MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER BELIEVES THAT CRITICISM OF ONE-MANDATE ELECTORAL SYSTEM HAS BEEN BECAUSE IT IS DP’S INITIATIVE

Opposition parties are refusing to participate in discussions on changing the current electoral system in Moldova only because the bill was proposed by the Democratic Party, maintains Andrian Candu, a DP Deputy Chairman.

Speaker Candu said at the news conference that actually he had not heard any serious arguments of the opposition, but would be happy to hear them in the course of bill debates. He voiced surprise about the negative reaction to the initiative, which, in his words, is “supported by 80% of the Moldovan population”.

“This week, we will send invitations for first public debates to parliamentary and extra-parliamentary parties, to the opposition and experts on the constitutional law and on electoral systems, and to civil society representatives. Debates proper should begin next week”, said the parliament chairman.

In his opinion, the refusal of some civil society organizations to participate in debates seems somewhat strange because it is exactly the civil society who initiates such public discussions in most cases.

“Those 19 organizations, which refused to participate, do not represent the entire civil society of the country. As far as I know, there are more than 7 thousand civil society organizations registered in Moldova, However, the said 19 organizations are an important part of the society, and we will continue disputing with them”, said Andrian Candu.

He is against putting off the initiative until 2020 “because any reform must be put into life at a correct time like now, when 80% citizens desire a change of the electoral system”.

In his words, civil society activists have collected more than 350 thousand citizens’ signature over last 2 weeks, “which fact is legitimizing the Democratic Party’s initiative and actions to promote the DP bill”.

The parliament chairman explained that if the bill is approved in its present-day version, then the seats in parliament, projected for deputies from Transnistria, will be remaining vacant until the next parliamentary election i.e. until the creation of proper conditions for holding democratic elections in the Transnistrian region.

Concerning deputies’ integrity, Andrian Candu said that the Democratic faction has begun raising deputies’ signatures and has registered a bill on amending the Constitution stipulating the abolishing of the deputies’ immunity.

“We have received positive replies from most of parliamentary standing committees and, essentially, from the Constitutional Court. May be, the bill will be included into the plenary agenda and considered already this week. I have no idea when the bill will be examined by the Venice Commission [of the Council of Europe]. The procedure may take up to 3 months”, said Speaker Andrian Candu.