The Central Election Commission (CEC) disputed in a higher court the Chisinau Appeals Court’s right to oblige the electoral authority to behave in a particular way, the Commission’s secretary Andrei Volentir explained. He commented on the Chisinau Appeals Court’s judgment by which the CEC is obliged to hold the constitutional referendum initiated by the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth”. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Andrei Volentir said the court can only invalidate an administrative document of an autonomous institution, such as the CEC, not yet to oblige this institution to take the decision that this considers appropriate, IPN reports.
“The Commission is an independent body constituted by Parliament to implement the electoral policies and nobody in this country has the right to intervene and impinge on its autonomy. We were appointed by Parliament to adopt solutions that we consider right, within the limits of the law. The court interfered in the Commission’s activity when it obliged it to act in a particular way,” said the CEC secretary.
At end-March, the Central Election Commission rejected the initiative concerning the holding of a constitutional referendum, put forward by the Civic Platform “Dignity and Truth”. It argued that the initiative group didn’t collect the signatures needed for the plebiscite in accordance with the law. The representatives of the initiative group challenged the CEC’s decision and the Chisinau Appeals Court ruled that the Commission must hold the initiated referendum.
The given referendum will include four questions – two concerning the election and dismissal of the Head of State by the people, one regarding the removal of parliamentary immunity and the fourth about the reduction in the number of MPs. The problem concerning the election and dismissal of the President by direct vote was already solved by a Constitutional Court judgment. Also, the MPs of the ruling alliance proposed a bill to exclude the parliamentary immunity.
