​SOCIALISTS CHALLENGE BASESCU’S MOLDOVAN CITIZENSHIP

The country’s chief oppositional parliamentary force, the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), has today challenged with the Constitutional Court the Presidential Decree on awarding the Moldova citizenship to ex-President of Romania Traian Basescu.

“The reason of such step is clear to the entire population of Moldova, who want to live in a sovereign and independent state, whereas this gentleman has stated many a time that he does not recognize either the independence or the sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova. Despite all this, President Nicolae Timofti has granted the Moldova citizenship to the Romanian ex-president – “in the interests of Moldova”, as Timofti wrote in his Decree. We regard this to be an overt mockery at our country and at the Moldovan people, so we have challenged the Decree, regarding it to be anti-constitutional and one that must be cancelled”, Socialist MP Vladimir Turcan stated to journalists today.

As already reported by Infotag, President Nicolae Timofti was surprisingly quick to sign the Decree on granting the Moldova citizenship to ex-President of Romania Traian Basescu and his wife Maria, who applied for the citizenship as recently as last March 8. According to the law, citizenship applications from foreigners are considered in Moldova within no shorter than one year. But the Basescus’ application was met practically straightaway.

PSRM Chairman Igor Dodon, who stands for Moldova’s strategic partnership with Russia and with the Eurasian Economic Union, is one of the strongest aspirants for the presidential post. The presidential election is due on October 30, when Moldovans will be electing their head of state by a direct vote for the first time ever since 2001.

Igor Dodon has no rivals in the Left political segment. If the Communist Party and Our Party do not nominate candidates of their own and support the Socialist candidate, Dodon will have a realistic chance to win already in the first election round.

In the incumbent 101-member Parliament of Moldova, the opposition Party of Socialists has the largest faction of 24.