It’s been two weeks since President Igor Dodon asked his question, and the Constitutional Court still hasn’t provided an answer as to when exactly the three months’ countdown starts before Parliament can be dissolved: is it the moment MP mandates are validated or the moment when Parliament holds its inaugural sitting? Contacted by IPN, the Constitutional Court’s press service said that the request is under examination and that, formally, the Court has six months to respond.  

Presidential aide Maxim Lebedinschi told IPN he hoped the Court would fast-track the examination of the request considering the urgency of the matter – either way, the three months’ period is to expire soon. But the legislation does not explicitly provide for a fast-track procedure that the Court could be forced to take. “This is not a question for us to answer, you should ask the Constitutional Court. We filed the request, we asked it to be examined as a matter of urgency, but it’s up to the Court to decide. We should get an answer at least before one of the deadlines expires. It would be normal and fair”, said Maxim Lebedinschi.

Constitutional scholar Nicolae Osmochescu also noted that there is no such thing as an urgent examination in the legislation. “In fact, the Constitutional Court should reject the request, because everything is already written in the Constitution”, says the expert. In his opinion, the countdown starts from the inaugural meeting, which took place on March 21, meaning that  the deadline falls on June 21.

The Constitution states that “in the case of impossibility of forming a Government or the law-making process is blocked during three months, the President of Moldova may dissolve Parliament after consulting with the parliamentary groups”.