The Democratic Party (PDM) will propose an amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova so that the judges are elected by the people. The announcement was made by the president of the PDM Vlad Plahotniuc in a press beefing held after the party’s weekly meeting, IPN reports.

The Democratic leader said that despite the reforms done in the justice sector the past few years, the perception that the judiciary is not independent and that different groups of interests intervene in the legal system persists. A Parliament decision was drafted to empower the legal commission for appointments and immunities to work out the constitutional amendment proposal. Before being put to the vote in Parliament, the initiative will be discussed with civil society and all those interested.

As to the amendment to enshrine the European integration course in the Constitution, Vlad Plahotniuc said this will be put to the vote in one of this week’s sittings of Parliament and each MP will have the occasion of showing if they are pro-European or they use this phrase only as an electoral element.

The leader of the PDM also announced that each of the dwellings where there are gas cylinders will be mandatorily outfitted with smoke detectors that would immediately signal leakages and would help to alert the emergency services on time. The measure will be implemented by the Government in a move to prevent tragedies similar to the one that happened in an apartment building in Râșcani district of Chisinau in the evening of October 8 and claimed four lives, including of a child, with a person hurt in this still being in a serious state.