The state of emergency in Moldova should have declared before the new parliamentary elections held in single-member constituency Hâncești on March 15. In the state, only two persons can request Parliament to declare a state of emergency. These are the President and the Premier. This way, President Igor Dodon and Premier Ion Chicu will bear overall responsibility if the number of persons infected with the novel coronavirus in Hâncești the next few days rises, lawyer Ștefan Gligor was quoted by IPN as saying in the talk show “Emphasis on today” on TVR Moldova channel.

“The legal responsibility will be borne by Igor Dodon and Ion Chicu as only they can ask to declare a state of emergency. Igor Dodon washed his hands of this. He misled the Central Election Commission as he was the one who should have made approaches to Parliament. Legally, it was the responsibility of Igor Dodon and Ion Chicu. They didn’t do this because they were naïve and because they were negotiating a coalition with the PDM,” stated Stefan Gligor.

Former minister of justice Olesea Stamate, who ran in the elections in Hâncești on behalf of the Action and Solidarity Party, said these elections could have been postponed, but the government had other plans.

“From legal viewpoint, the decision was to be taken by Parliament as this is the body that can declare a state of emergency. Things could have been solved easier, but there was no wish. The government planned to formalize a new coalition and to confirm the new four members of the Superior Council of Magistracy to posts. The government had other plans and the declaring of a state of emergency would have thwarted these plans. When the related problems were solved, the state of emergency was declared. We wanted these elections to be put off,” stated Olesea Stamate.

The president of the Liberal Party Dorin Chirtoacă said that last week he asked the Central Election Commission to postpone the elections in Hâncești constituency, but he didn’t receive an official answer from the institution.

Ștefan Gligor said he does not understand what the difference was between the Sunday when the elections were held and the next Monday when Parliament was requested to declare a state of emergency. The Chicu Government is political, not technocratic and it exposed the people to risks.

Olesea Stamate, Dorin Chirtoacă and Ștefan Gligor noted that the measures taken by the authorities in the fight against COVID-19 are chaotic and there is no clear view as to how this pandemic can evolve. They consider the authorities should make known the localities where cases of infection were recorded so as to raise awareness and stimulate discipline as the people in rural areas do not yet realize the risks.