The NOW bloc will register eight legislative initiatives on Friday, March 22, including a draft “Declaration of the Parliament regarding the captured state of public institutions”, a bill to cancel the mixed voting system and the Magnitsky Law. Andrei Nastase, head of the Dignity and Truth Party and co-president of NOW, told a press conference that the first meeting of the Parliament was unexpectedly short, IPN reports.

“From the very start, I want to make it clear that me and my colleagues from the NOW bloc know exactly what to do to free Moldova from the captivity of the oligarchic regime. We know who we are dealing with, we know who the torturers of our people are, we know their names and their faces, we know what they are willing to do in order to maintain control over the country and withhold power from its legitimate holder, the people”, said Nastase.

NOW insists that there can be no discussions and negotiations until the Parliament acknowledges in a statement that Moldova needs to be freed from the captivity of a small circle of individuals and until profound reforms are launched. NOW wants to sack the Prosecutor General and appoint a new one, preferably from the EU. Other officials to be sacked include the members of the Central Electoral Commission, the leadership of the Security and Intelligence Service, of the National Anticorruption Center, of the Council of the Audiovisual, of the National Integrity Agency, of the Supreme Justice Court and other public institutions.

“We are facing a grave social, economic and political crisis, amplified by generalized corruption and the usurpation of power, which the greatest crime against the people of Moldova. In these conditions, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova condemns the current oligarchic regime, lead by the president of the Democratic Party, Vlad Plahotniuc, which is guilty of illegally and unconstitutionally controlling the Prosecutor General, CNA, ANI, CEC, SIS, BNM and other authorities that should be independent and autonomous”, MP Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei read from the draft statement.

MP Alexandru Slusari said that the bloc also wants three investigative parliamentary commissions. One should tackle the theft of the billion and oblige the National Bank to publish the Kroll 2 report. Another one should investigate the consequences of the amnesty of capital, while the third commission should investigate the money-laundering operations known as the Russian Laundromat.

MP Igor Munteanu spoke about the proposal to adopt a Magnitsky Law. It would ban people who have international criminal records from having access to the Moldovan banking system. It would also forbid criminals who violated human rights or swindled large amounts of money to enter the country. The third element of the bill would concern the seizure of assets obtained by fraud or money-laundering.

Reporters have asked Andrei Nastase if these initiatives can be registered without first electing the leadership of the Parliament. He answered that the bloc’s approach is strictly legal. Nastase also refused to talk about NOW’s candidate for Speaker, given that there is no majority formed yet.