MOLDOVAN LEADERSHIP IGNORE RECEPTION DEDICATED TO USA INDEPENDENCE DAY

All the representatives of the Republic of Moldova’s top leadership, including the president, prime minister and parliament chairman, ignored the last Friday’s official reception organized by the United States Embassy in Chisinau on the occasion of the USA Independence Day.

For the first time over many years, there was no even Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, who was always present at such receptions in the USA Embassy in previous years. And there was no Chairman of the Democratic Party, the 'executive coordinator' of the Moldovan ruling coalition Vlad Plahotniuc.

Political scientist Andrei Popov, a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, wrote on his Facebook page that “their absence so stroke one’s eye that one could have an impression it was an organized boycott, an agreed-on decision to give a certain signal to reception organizers”.

Popov pointed out that the absence looked particularly shocking compared with the reception organized on the occasion of the Europe Day last May, which was attended by all the leaders of the Moldovan governing coalition and lots of ministers of government and members of parliament. This time, the Americans could see only MP Vladimir Hotineanu and Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe Balan at the reception.

Andrei Popov offered a supposition that this demarche by the Moldovan authorities was caused by their discontent about the United States’ and European Union’s insistence that Moldova must fulfill the recommendations of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe concerning electoral system change in Moldova.

According to him, the official Chisinau is resisting to include this provision into the text of the joint declaration by Moldova and the USA on resumption of strategic dialog. However, the reference to the Venice Commission’s recommendations is contained in the final document in a formulation fairly tough for Moldova.

Speaking on the JurnalTV channel last week, the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Moldova, James D. Pettit, stated that the Moldovan government is busy with changing the electoral system and preserving their own power instead of implementing real reforms.

In his words, the electoral system is being changed for the sake of consolidating of the incumbent ruling majority’s political power. He said the mixed electoral system is used in many countries, but the point is not in this. The Venice Commission’s recommendations are linked with the concrete situation in Moldova. It is obvious that the Democratic Party’s political will is aimed at further consolidation of the DP’s power and political influence.

The American Ambassador offered an opinion that a new electoral system will all the same be introduced – even in spite of certain hints by the representatives of the OSCE and Venice Commission experts. But should this really happen, it would be advisable at least to take into account the rest recommendations by the Venice Commission that can substantially improve Moldova’s Election Code, said James D. Pettit.