An eventual failure of the referendum on Moldova’s integration into the EU will offer electoral advantages to Eurosceptic parties and will stagnate the process of European integration, said the leaders of several extraparliamentary pro-European parties. According to them, a possible modest turnout at this referendum will turn this into a nonrepresentative electoral exercise, IPN reports.
Alexandru Bujoreanu, co-chairman of the League of Cities and Communes (LOC), said that his party supports the idea of a referendum after which the European development course should be enshrined in the Constitution. However, the holding of the plebiscite simultaneously with the presidential election carries a number of risks.
“As pro-European parties, we support such a referendum. What raises big questions is the timing and insistence on holding this referendum on a presidential election day. We are disturbed by the risks posed by this referendum. This referendum comes to increase the voter turnout and this benefits, first of all, Missis President, but it also mobilizes the pro-Russian electorate who will have an additional motivation to go to the polls and choose the “against” option. What do we do if this referendum fails or if a relatively small number of citizens turn out for the referendum? How fair would it be to amend the Constitution with a voter turnout of 17%, for example” Alexandru Bujoreanu stated in the program “At 360 Degrees” on Radio Moldova station.
Liviu Vovc, secretary general of the Party “Dignity and Truth Platform”, said given that the state institutions are not strong enough in the face of challenges posed by criminal groups, the holding of a referendum is a risky exercise.
“The referendum can only be held if there is no state of emergency in the country. Respectively, we will not have a Commission for Emergency Situations to remove Shor’s representatives from the competition. What is the guarantee that millions will not be pumped for this referendum to have a negative result for the Republic of Moldova? A referendum must be organized when we have strong institutions, when Shor will be removed from politics in the Republic of Moldova and all the actions of the Russian Federation will be at the lowest level. We requested that representatives of extraparliamentary parties be included in the Commission for European Integration under the President of the Republic of Moldova,” stated Liviu Vovc.
The chairman of the European Social Democratic Party Ion Sula said that his party supports the organization of a referendum on the country’s accession to the EU. However, an eventual failure would put Moldova in a bad light in front of the foreign partners.
“In the last three elections we had in the Republic of Moldova, presidential, parliamentary and local ones, over 60% of the citizens voted for pro-European parties. The citizens gave a vote of confidence to the pro-European parties, to a pro-European president. Another problem is that if this referendum is held, it will be politicized. If this referendum is not validated, what does the Republic of Moldova do next? Will we feed the other parties that are Eurosceptic? Will we offer advantages to the pro-East parties? There is a risk that this referendum will be boycotted and invalidated,” noted the politician.
The national referendum on Moldova’s accession to the European Union is to be held concurrently with the presidential election. The plebiscite initiative was formulated by President Maia Sandu.
