Anatolie Donciu provided details about his removal from the post of acting president of the National Integrity Authority (NIA) following press reports on the issue. In a press statement, Donciu says the new president Victor Stratila, having no legal reason, showed abuse of zeal and abused his power, misleading the authorities, public figures, colleagues and civil society.
Anatolie Donciu said he was named member of the National Integrity Commission by the Parliament decision of October 25, 2012, for a five-year term. He was shortly chosen as chairman of the Commission. His term in office as Commission member expired on October 25 this year, while his term as Commission chairman was to expire when a lawful successor took over.
On October 27, Victor Stratila phoned the NIA and said he would occupy the post of chairman and he prepared a relevant letter to the Parliament’s legal commission for appointments and immunities. According to Donciu, he summoned a meeting for October 30 and found Stratila in the chair of Commission head alone. “In that situation, I asked him not to block the meeting and to present an official document to confirm his position of chairman. He expressed his irritation and, threatening the staff with drastic penalties for disobedience, left the meeting hall,” stated Anatolie Donciu. The meeting disused Stratila’s statement and decided to submit an official request to the legal commission so as to clarify the situation.
On October 31, a letter from the legal commission reached the NAI’s anteroom and one more meeting of the staff was called. Stratila was invited to this and asked to explain the legal reasons and arguments for taking up the post of NIA president. This replied that the legal commission’s response is sufficient for occupying the post.
Anatolie Donciu said that to calm things down, he decided to tender his resignation and a new meeting with the NIA staff was arranged for November 1. Donciu asked to give him time until next day, but Stratila demanded that the seat should be vacated immediately or he would call the police. Donciu thus decided to inform public opinion about the real circumstances in which Stratila actually usurped the power in the National Integrity Authority when there was a peaceful and civilized solution.
Anatolie Donciu noted that the high-ranking public post cannot be occupied abusively or arbitrarily and are to be assigned in accordance with the law. As it is well known, Victor Stratila, while holding the post of member and then deputy chairman of the NIA since 2013 until present, showed himself to be an ardent opponent of the reorganization of the Commission and the online declarations system and of other processes in the NIA.
Moreover, Anatolie Donciu said it is not clear how such a person can aspire to an executive post in an integrity institution when he does not deserve it as he is not upright and failed the polygraph test. In such a situation, he considers the competent bodes – the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the people’s ombudsperson - should examine this case and pronounce on it so as to avoid a possible negative precedent in the future.
