Government extends state of emergency for 60 days, parliamentary opposition protests

29.07.2022 00:01
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The state of emergency in the Republic of Moldova will be extended for 60 days as from August 8. A decision to this effect was adopted by Parliament at the suggestion of the Government. The MPs of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists left the assembly hall in protest, IPN reports.

The authorities explained that the state of emergency is necessary in order to offer the Commission for Exceptional Situations the possibility of intervening promptly to ensure the country’s energy and food security in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Under the decision, during the state of emergency the Commission for Exceptional Situation will make binding orders that must be obeyed by the managers of the central and local public authorities, business entries and public institutions and also by the citizens and other persons who are in Moldova.

The MPs of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists left the assembly hall, saying that they disagree with the authorities’ intention to extend the state of emergency for another 60 days as such a decision is not justified. In a press briefing, the BCS group’s head Zinaida Grechanyi said the ruling party should assume full responsibility for the extension of the state of emergency and for its consequences.

For his part, Deputy Speaker Vlad Batrîncea, executive secretary of the Party of Socialists, said the state of emergency regime is an extreme measure that cannot be extended endlessly as all the areas of activity in the country are this way affected. “In the Republic of Moldova, there is a functional Government and Parliament. The public institutions should work in accordance with the law, but the state of emergency regime enables the Commission for Exceptional Situations to deviate from the law. Why should the Government be replaced by the Commission for Exceptional Situations that consists of the same ministers?” asked the MP.

The state of emergency in the Republic of Moldova was declared on February 24, 2022, when the war in Ukraine broke out, and has been extended for several times since then.