The Government and the presidential administration should achieve consensus in order to solve the problems that appeared as a result of the presidential elections, Maxim Lebedinski, adviser to the President on legal matters and institutional relations and the President’s representative in the relations with the Government and Parliament, stated in the public debate “Relations between the branches of power in new conditions: between cooperation, early parliamentary elections, impeachment and …something else”, which was organized by IPN News Agency in concert with Radio Moldova. According to him, the presidential administration does not want to come into conflict with the other institutions of the state and wants to cooperate by consensus.
“A consensus should be identified between the governmental institution and the presidential one. If someone believes that by interpreting the Constitution or by withdrawing particular powers, the presidential institution will be forced to take particular action, they are wrong. A number of 34 MPs should first initiate the referendum and 67 MPs should decide to suspend the President and call a referendum within a month, as the Constitution provides,” said Maxim Lebedinski.
According to him, the President clearly asked for mutual institutional respect. “Many of the Constitutional Courts’ judgments state that the President elected directly by the people has bigger legitimacy than the Government. So, being elected by the people, he has that power given to him by the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. If the Supreme Law says that the sovereignty of the state belongs to the people and the President is the guarantor of sovereignty, he is normally responsible for satisfying the people’s will,” said the adviser.
As to the three powers in the state, Maxim Lebedinski said the Head of State plays the role of mediator between them either it is about the appointment of judges or the promulgation of laws, or the naming of ministers in case of Cabinet reshuffles. “When a person who has nothing to do with the Ministry of Defense is to be proposed for minister of defense, when the President is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, in accordance with the Constitution, and such a candidate is promoted, he will surely react,” stated Igor Dodon’s representative.
According to the adviser, when the ordinary people want something and the Government and Parliament, as state authorities, deviate from the people’s will, the Head of State must sensitize to or even block particular actions.
Maxim Lebedinski noted that on the day of the presidential elections, the legislation on the President’s powers was unchanged, but it was later modified for the reason that it was Igor Dodon who won the elections. “These are measures of constraint taken by the legislature directly against the presidential institution and a concrete person. What hadn’t been a problem during 25 years now became a problem,” he stated.
The public debate “Relations between the branches of power in new conditions: between cooperation, early parliamentary elections, impeachment and …something else” is the 69th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are organized with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
