The Central Election Commission (CEC) ordered to stop all the measures planned to be taken to prepare and hold the national consultative referendum initiated by President Igor Dodon and abrogated the decisions adopted in this regard, IPN reports.

In the July 27 meeting of the CEC, the Commission’s president Alina Russu said the CEC took cognizance of the Constitutional Court’s decision by which the presidential decree on the holding of the referendum was declared unconstitutional. Therefore, the decisions taken earlier by the CEC, including on the plan of action, the place and time of accepting documents for registering participants in the national consultative referendum and others, were abrogated.

On July 27, the Constitutional Court ruled that President Igor Dodon’s decree to hold a national consultative referendum is unconstitutional. Following a challenge filed by the Liberal Party, the Court held that the questions formulated for the plebiscite are outside the President’s area of competence and, consequently, cannot be the subjects of a referendum initiated by the Head of State. It noted it is against the spirit of the Constitution for the President, hiding under the phrase “problems of national interest, to initiate a referendum that entails the amendment of the Constitution or covers issues that are within the remit of the academic community.