MORE MOLDOVANS SUPPORT VOTING SYSTEM CHANGING THAN EUROPEAN INTEGRATION – ANDRIAN CANDU

Speaker of the Parliament Andrian Candu pointed at the fact that the voting system change is currently supported by more Moldovan citizens than the European integration at the moment of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement signing.

Commenting on the Venice Commission decision concerning the voting system change, Candu wrote in his blog that Moldova respects the Commission’s recommendations and will take them into account at adopting the draft law in the final reading. The Speaker commented at some recommendations, stressing their technical and juridical character.

Writing about the possibility of voting system change “only in conditions of consensus and absence of society polarization”, he stressed that the country is very polarized at all the important problems, especially when it is about the geopolitics and the European integration.

“This is the reality, unfortunately. Had we adopted only the issues on which there is no polarization, we would have done nothing. Polarization exists when we are talking about the European Union or the Eurasian Union, as well as when it comes about the pension system reform, about other important reforms, also it existed when we signed when the EU-Moldova Association Agreement”, Candu wrote.

He pointed at the fact that three years ago, when the Agreement was signed, there was wide consensus neither in the society nor in the Parliament. The Speaker reminded that according to the 2014 Public Opinion Barometer, 48% respondents said that the Association Agreement will only lead to worsening of the situation, while the document was ratified in the Parliament on July 2, 2014, by votes of 59 deputies. For comparison, the Chairman of the Parliament stressed that for adopting a draft law on mixed voting system in the first reading, 74 deputies voted for.

“I wonder which would be the Venice Commission conclusion in that case? It would not recommend us the signing of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, as there was polarization and there was no complete support from the side of citizens? The difference between what happened and the current situation is that the voting system changing has overwhelming support both in the Parliament and in the society. The bill was approved by 74 votes of deputies, 61% citizens also stand for voting system changing and only 29% want to preserve the current system. Just as back then, we undertake the whole responsibility for changing the current election system, which failed, as well as for political class reforming”, Candu said.

According to him, in the following period a lot of consultations inside the country will be organized and with external partners in order to take into consideration the Venice Commission’s recommendations and improve the draft at its adoption in the second reading.