OUTGOING PARLIAMENT IS STILL INTENDING TO MAKE SOME RESHUFFLING AND EVEN HOLD PLENARY MEETINGS

Some staff reshuffling is yet expected in the current Parliament of Moldova, namely in its Democratic and Communist factions, though the forum's plenary powers expired yet on November 30, 2018.

On Tuesday evening, the Central Election Commission considered the application filed by Parliament Chairman Andrian Candu concerning the resignation of 4 parliamentarians - Artur Resetnicov, Raisa Apolschi, Corneliu Mihalache and Valentina Buliga, who have received posts in the Constitutional Court, the Audiovisual Council and the Social Fund.

The CEC took note of the Speaker's address and started the procedure of appointing new deputies from the parties' waiting lists. These will be Democrats Eleonora Graur and Gheorghe Brasovschi and Communists Ion Filimon and Ghenadie Morcov. The latter two will replace Artur Resetnicov and Corneliu Mihalache, who were elected to the Parliament in 2014 on the Communist Party ticket, but subsequently joined the ruling Democratic Party.

The CEC will shortly send its application to the Constitutional Court that is to take a final decision on the constitutionality of recognizing the new deputies' parliamentary mandates.

Never before has the Constitutional Court approved the mandates of deputies after de-jure Parliament's plenary powers had long expired. However, the country's chief lawmaker, Speaker Andrian Candu, has decided that the incumbent Parliament will be remaining a legal entity until the coming of a new legislative forum and, moreover, the old Parliament is intending to hold several plenary meetings before the February 24 election.