There are now three vacancies of deputy mayor in Chisinau. The last time this subject was discussed by the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) in November 2015, but the mayor general didn’t submit relevant proposals to councilors afterward. Most of the councilors consider the appointment of deputy mayors is delayed because there is no majority coalition on the CMC or because no consensus about candidates was reached in the Liberal Party. Moreover, the councilors believe that before submitting proposals to the Council, the mayor of Chisinau should first consult all the groups. The councilors said they will vote only for professional candidates.
Contacted by IPN, Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca said the proposal to introduce the matter concerning the nomination of mayors is being considered. “We tried to discuss it with the councilors to see if we have a democratic majority and can propose candidates on behalf of everyone, but an answer wasn’t provided on time. It may come now. So, we will attempt to suggest candidates for deputy mayor who will represent all the democratic councilors,” he stated.
According to him, the other councilors, besides the Liberals, could also support the candidates so that the deputy mayors are representative. Otherwise, the mayor will name the deputy mayors by order, as the legislation provides, if the candidates do not garner the necessary number of votes as a result of two consecutive meetings.
Representatives of the Chisinau Council groups told IPN that they are ready to vote for the candidates who will be proposed by the mayor if these are professionals, have integrity and haven’t been involved in political games.
Chairman of the Socialists group Ion Ceban said the appointment of deputy mayors was discussed long ago, but the mayor or his team didn’t field candidates. “We will see what those who should propose candidates according to the law suggest and will then discuss the issue,” stated the councilor.
Ion Ceban noted that the Socialists during a year and a half have prevented illegalities related to land or other public property, but supported projects beneficial to the municipality, no matter who suggested these. The Socialists will support the candidates with merits. The Socialist group will not field its own candidate as it does not need posts and assumed the role of supervising order in the municipality and of formulating constructive proposals.
Councilor of the group of the Electoral Bloc “European People’s Platform – Iurie Leanca” Veaceslav Bulat said this subject was discussed and an attempt to field candidates was made in November 2015, when the pro-democratic alliance still existed on the CMC. The bloc’s group fielded its candidate and the Liberal and the other groups were to also propose candidates, but this didn’t happen. This matter wasn’t later raised again because the group of the European People’s Platform withdrew its signature from the local alliance formation agreement at the start of 2016. “There is no alliance on the Municipal Council and thus the mayor does not have the courage to propose candidates. Probably he does not know who to field or he knows very well that his candidates, who are promoted unofficially, will not gain the Council’s vote. That’s why the issue is delayed,” said the councilor.
Veaceslav Bulat also said that their group is ready to vote for professional candidates for deputy mayor, who are not involved in political games, irregularities related to land, functioning of institutions and other matters and meet the minimum integrity criteria. The legislation provides that if the candidates put up by the mayor do not gather the necessary number of votes in two consecutive meetings of the CMC, the mayor can name them by an ordinance. As this hasn’t been yet done, there are probably harsh struggles for the posts of deputy mayor and of division heads, where the managers are now acting, inside the Liberal Party. So, there is no consensus as to who should be fielded.
The councilor considers candidates for deputy mayor will most probably be proposed in March-April. It is now decided who will remain in the Liberal Party and who will join the new party that the ex-deputy chairman of the PL Anatol Salaru intends to found. When things calm down, candidates will be suggested and these will be named by order of the mayor, if these are not supported by the CMC.
Chairman of the Liberal group Ion Cebanu said they permanently discuss the appointment of deputy mayors. The mayor will definitely field candidates and these will be discussed with colleagues from the other groups, except the Socialist one. They will make effort to achieve consensus. As regards the alleged struggles inside the Liberal Party, Ion Cebanu said there are no confrontations there and dissentions most probably exist in other groups.
Elena Panus, leader of the group of “Our Party”, said this subject started to be discussed when there was a local governing alliance, but its members could not reach a consensus given that the alliance worked for a short period of time. The alliances are an unserious approach and candidates for deputy mayor in such conditions are suggested not based on merits, but on agreements.
The councilor said their group repeatedly insisted on including the matter in the agenda so that the City Hall works at full capacity, but they weren’t heard. They will support only professional candidates and will not use political criteria. It would be logical for the mayor to discuss with all the groups because there is now no communication between the mayor and the councilors. During the previous terms in office, the mayor at least took part in the Council’s meeting, but ow he does not do it and tries to impose particular decisions. Most probably, the mayor hoped the confortable alliance would be restored and the candidates would be voted in.
Councilor of the Liberal Democratic Party Gennady Dumanski said the CMC now goes through a situation similar to that witnessed after the local elections of 2011. “We anticipated that the debates on the CMC will end after the presidential elections, but these continue and it seems that there are two camps that simply want to destroy each other. Regrettably, instead of dealing with the real problems of the municipality, the CMC discusses political issues and this continues for years,” he stated.
The councilor noted that the naming of deputy mayors is very important for reforms, for the economic and social recovery of Chisinau municipality. “Despite discussions, no democratic alliance could have been formed on the Council so far. I suspect that the mayor didn’t field candidates for deputy mayor namely for this reason, as these would not be supported. We must admit that there is defective communication between the mayor and the Municipal Council. When communication exists, it is sporadic, incoherent and fragmented,” he said.
Gennady Dumanski also said that the Lib-Dems are for forming a democratic alliance on the CMC as they would start to deal with the real problems if such an alliance is created. As to the participation by councilors of the Electoral Bloc “European People’s Platform – Iurie Leanca” in this alliance, these probably wait for the mayor to invite them to field their candidate for deputy mayor in charge of economic matters and the mayor could make them such an offer.
Councilor of the Democratic Party Liviu Oboroc said the appointment of deputy mayors is the prerogative of the mayor general and, if this hasn’t yet nominated candidates, there is evidently a delay. All the vacancies haven’t been filled in the previous Council as well. The activity will be more efficient if all the four deputy mayors are named. They are ready to support the candidates fielded by the mayor, if these are professionals and have a clear view on how the local problems should be solved. But the proposals should be discussed before being submitted to the CMC. The activity of deputy mayors has a major impact on the city.
Independent councilor Ion Stefanita stated that the mayor shows complete irresponsibility and total indifference to the administration of local affairs. “It is evident that the work should be divided by areas of responsibility and the deputy mayors should fulfill their duties in these areas. The lack of such division makes the municipality to be managed badly, while this Liberal egoism will worsen things further. If the mayor wants to cooperate with the local legislature, the candidates should be discussed by the CMC’s Standing Bureau and then appointed so that the city is managed in accordance with the expectations of the residents of Chisinau,” he stated.
There are four posts of deputy mayor in Chisinau. Under the new Law on the Status of Chisinau Municipality, the deputy mayor is elected by the decision of the Municipal Council, adopted by a majority of votes, at the suggestion of the mayor general. If the draft decision on the election of the proposed candidate for deputy mayor is excluded from the agenda of two consecutive meetings of the CMC or the candidate is short of votes, the mayor general names deputy mayors by an ordinance that is submitted to the CMC.
Elena Nistor, IPN
