The founding president of the Party “Dignity and Truth Platform” Andrei Năstase notified the Venice Commission of the amendment of the electoral legislation, saying that the current government tries to politically subdue the Central Election Commission. He also sent a letter to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe to which he complained about the political pressure exerted by the Party of Action and Solidarity on local elected officials, IPN reports.
Andrei Năstase said that in the letter addressed to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, he depicted the government’s deviations and the political pressure exerted on mayors and local councilors. He considers the blackmailing of mayors can expand ahead of the local general elections of 2023.
“I sent a message to the Venice Commission and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and informed them all about the democratic backsliding in the Republic of Moldova. I told them about the persecution of mayors and councilors. In the letter to the European mayors, I complained about pressure, lynching, political corruption. Do you remember how Plahotniuc made mayors from the PLDM join the PDM wholesale? The current government does the same. The people are blackmailed through the NAC, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor’s Office and administrative instruments,” Andrei Năstase stated in the program “Résumé” on RliveTV channel.
He said he also notified the Venice Commission, asking this to appraise the bill to amend the Electoral Code. According to him, the PAS tries to politically subdue the main electoral institution of the country, offering the Superior Council of Magistracy and the Government the possibility of delegating representatives to work on the Central Election Commission.
“The SCM and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are fully controlled politically. There is no national political consensus on the Electoral Code. We have political and social consensus but against the amendments made by the government in its party interests. What role can the SCM play in the composition of the CEC? I would anyway delegate a personality who lived an upright life to work on the CEC but why to name a person from such an institution like the current CSM? What is happening in the justice sector today is much more serious than in Plahotniuc’s times,” stated Andrei Năstase.
The new Electoral Code was given a first reading by Parliament on July 28. Under the bill, in exceptional situations, such as a pandemic or a state of emergency, elections in some of the electoral districts can be held during two days, on Saturday and Sunday, by derogation from the general rule. The bill also suggests that the Central Election Commission should have another makeup and should consist of seven members. One member should be named by the President and by two members should be nominated by the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Government and Parliament, by observing the proportional representation of the majority and the opposition.
