The decision pronounced by the Constitutional Court on March 4 reinstating the election of President by popular vote has been in fact a concession made by the government under the pressure of street protests, stated Socialist leader Igor Dodon during a talk show on Radio Moldova.

“The government panicked. Especially after the rally on January 20 when the Parliament building was surrounded. Had it not been for those protests, Parliament would have kept its prerogative to elect the President and, as far as I know, the required number of votes would have been found, too. But the government got scared and surrendered”, said Dodon.

However, Igor Dodon thinks this was the wrong way to restore direct presidential elections: “This could have been solved in two legitimate ways, through Parliament or by constitutional referendum . We endorsed either. But instead of admitting defeat, the government resorted to the Constitutional Court, choosing a crooked way”.

Igor Dodon went on to accuse the government of hollow populist actions: “First they increase the cost of electricity by 37 percent, and then they brag about reducing the tariffs by 10 percent. What few know, however, is that the import price of electricity dropped by more than 20 percent”.