Jurists Anatol Plugaru and Mihai Petrache propose a set of measures to avoid the constitutional referendum, presidential polls and early legislative elections, measures which would save the budget at least 100 million lei, a sum that could be used instead to help the flood-affected people, Info-Prim Neo reports. In the event the polls are considered illegitimate or unconstitutional, apart from bringing nothing new to the power arrangement, it would also consume other millions of lei of taxpayer money. At a press conference on Friday, Anatol Plugaru said one reasonable solution would be for Speaker and concurrently acting President Mihai Ghimpu to step down by his own choice. “Today everything depends on the preferences of his excellence Mihai Ghimpu. I think it would be right for Mihai Ghimpu, the holder of two posts, to understand that he is tired and admit it publicly”, said Plugaru. After Mihai Ghimpu’s resignation or dismissal from one or both posts, they could be occupied by Vlad Filat, Marian Lupu, Serafim Urecheanu or even someone from the opposition Communist Party. These changes would lead to the avoidance of the costly polls, argued Anatol Plugaru. The way of electing the president should not be changed in a referendum, which would cost some 40 million lei, but in Parliament, at a cost of 400 lei, the value of some packs of paper required for the procedure. Mihai Petrache agreed it wasn’t right that the fate of the country depended on a “whim” of just one person. “It would be good if the parliamentary parties agreed on a memorandum to provide for cooperation and taking of responsibilities”, said the jurist. Mihai Petrache suggested the memorandum should contain the following: the referendum is annulled, as is the outcome of the 2009 presidential elections for constitutional breaches; the Law on the way of electing the president is amended by Parliament; the president is elected in Parliament. Such a memorandum, according to Mihai Petrache, would pacify the politicians. The jurists also criticized the electoral amendment which lowered the turnout requirement for referenda, saying it would be illegitimate for 16.5% of the voters to decide the fate of the country, especially since nearly a half of the eligible voters are working abroad. “This absurd amendment will create a precedent for other governments to change the supreme law whenever they want. This isn’t and cannot be the will of the people”, said Plugaru. He also suggested that the politicians, including the MPs, should undergo mental health tests before being elected or appointed to top posts. Anatol Plugaru thinks that in the current situation of the country, the five parliamentary parties should put their ambitions aside and start anew, with negotiations on a new power sharing deal that would include the Communists to participate in governance.