​MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT’S FIRST MEETING LASTED SHORTER THAN ONE HOUR

The first plenary meeting of the recently elected new Parliament of Moldova lasted less than one hour on Thursday. According to the law, it was chaired by the forum’s oldest deputy Eduard Smirnov, 79, of the Party of Socialists (PSRM).

During the meeting, the representatives of 3-of-4 parliamentary parties announced the formation of their parliamentary factions. These are the PSRM, the Democratic Party and Ilan Shor Party that will consist, respectively, of 35, 30 and 7 MPs.

Andrei Nastase, the Co-Chairperson of the 4th parliamentary force – the voting bloc ACUM – confirmed that the bloc is remaining united. He said ACUM needs some more time to take an official decision on forming a parliamentary faction. The Moldovan legislation gives maximum 10 days for this, starting from the date of the first plenary sitting beginning.

Observers presume that the ACUM bloc may well split into its two initial components – the party called DA Platform (Nastase) and the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS, Maya Sandu). By law, parliamentary factions may be formed by minimum 5 MPs.

PAS leader Maya Sandu and several more deputies are still in Brussels, holding consultations with European partners concerning the formation of a would-be governing coalition. After the February 24 parliamentary election, ACUM received invitations to negotiations on coalition shaping both from the Democratic Party and the Party of Socialists, but declined both of them.

Chairing MP Eduard Smirnov eventually stated that as the forum has failed to form a parliamentary majority today, this sitting may not be continued. So he announced a break in the sitting, and promised to inform the lawmakers on the date and hour of the work continuation.