Transparency International Moldova executive director Lilia Carasciuc, who was a member of the initiative group for organizing a legislative referendum on the annulment of the mixed electoral system, said the October 2 judgment by the Constitutional Court confirms that the initiative group had the right to initiate that referendum and the Central Election Commission’s refusal to register the group was illegal and in the interests of the ruling party.
In a comment for IPN, Lilia Carasciuc said the CC judgement shows the lack of a regulatory framework cannot deprive the citizens of this right. The fact that in the absence of this regulatory framework, Parliament, which adopted the new electoral system despite the expressed opposition, will examine and validate the texts put up for referendum and the referendum results show the ruling alliance has one message “no matter what you do, you will not get rid of us”.
“The fact that later, possibly after the elections, the regulatory framework will be adopted amid control on the part of a narrow group of interests makes me think that this regulatory framework could be adjusted again depending on how much they “arrange” the election outcome. The conclusion is that the democratic system in the Republic of Moldova was locked inside a vicious circle that limits the society’s possibilities of making a free, correct choice and of deciding their future,” stated Lilia Carasciuc.
In its judgement, the Constitutional Court specified that the citizens have the right to initiate legislative referendums in the conditions specified by law. Until the procedure for initiating legislative referendums and confirming their results is regulated, Parliament will validate the texts put up for referendum and the referendum results.
The Court pronounced after an initiative group for annulling the mixed electoral system, through a group of MPs of the Liberal Democratic Party, filed an application on the people’s right to initiate referendums to the CC at the start of April. Two attempts were made to register the initiative group for annulling the mixed electoral system. The constitutional judges were to say if the citizens have or do not have the right to initiate legislative referendums given that the Central Election Commission, when it refused to register the initiative group for the second time, made reference to an appraisal of the Parliament’s legal commission saying the legislative referendums are not expressly regulated in the Constitution.
