A number of 26 NGOs requested the legislative body to immediately amend the Constitution so as to make sure that the prosecutor general is named in accordance with the new law on the prosecution service, IPN reports.

The law, which took effect on August 1 this year, provides that the prosecutor general is named by the Head of State, at the suggestion of the Superior Council of Prosecutors, for a seven-year term. But the Constitution still stipulates that the prosecutor general is appointed by Parliament, at the suggestion of the Speaker, for a five-year term.

“We call on Moldova’s Parliament to urgently adopt the bill to amend the Constitution so that the new prosecutor general is chosen by the Superior Council of Prosecutors and is named to post by the Head of State. We remind that on September 22, 2016, the Superior Council of Prosecutors launched a contest to select the prosecutor general and this was to be over by this yearend,” the 26 NGOs say in a public appeal.

The signatories warn that any hesitation in adopting this amendment to the Constitution risks being interpreted by society as attempt to maintain political control over the prosecution service. Moreover, the non-adoption of this amendment will create confusion as to the length of the term of the future prosecutor general.

Among the signatories are the Legal Resources Center of Moldova, the Institute for European Politics and Reforms, the Partnership for Development Center, the Association of Independent Press, Transparency International-Moldova, “EcoContact” Association, East-Europe Foundation, the Human Rights Embassy and Amnesty International Moldova.