Civil society endorses President Nicolae Timofti’s initiative to impose integrity requirements on the candidate for premiership. A number of NGOs urged the head of state, as the guarantor of the Constitution, to resist any pressure and attempts to bring discredited persons to power and to undermine the legality and functionality of the state institutions, IPN reports.
According to the statement issued by the signatory NGOs, following the multiple corruption-related scandals in all the three state powers over the last few years, Moldova’s population lost confidence in the ruling authorities’ capacity to govern the country in the national interests, not in the personal or group interests. “A first step towards restoring the credibility of the rulers is to ensure transparent consultations on the designation of the candidate for Prime Minister and to take a decision that will ensure the rule of law in Moldova,” says the statement.
The signatories reiterate the January 5 declaration about the Parliament’s failed attempt to invest the Government owing to the absence of quorum. They call again on the legislative body to convene and pronounce by vote on the work program and list of candidates for Cabinet member proposed by ex-candidate for premiership Ion Sturza. They also call upon the head of state to initiate consultations to designate a new candidate for Prime Minister only after he receives the relevant Parliament decision. If the President decides to nominate the candidate proposed by a parliamentary alliance, he is asked to use all his rights to propose only an upright candidate who is free from corruption-related suspicions.
Civil society asks to ensure a transparent process of debates to choose the candidate for Premier and to preliminarily examine all the candidates for Prime Minister and for minister so as to see if these meet the integrity criteria. It also requests the candidate for premiership and all the candidates for Cabinet member to assume the obligation to sign the integrity statement on their own responsibility.
The statement was signed by over 20 NGOs among which the Small Business Association of Moldova, the Independent Press Association, the Independent Journalism Center, the Legal Resources Center of Moldova, the Independent Think Tank “Expert Grup”, the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul”, the Institute for Public Policy, “Promo-LEX” Association and Transparency International Moldova.
After a round of consultations with parliamentary groups last week, the head of state asked the parties to take into account the majority pro-European option of the Moldovan people in the talks on the formation of a ruling alliance and to choose candidates for Prime Minister who meet the integrity criteria and are free from suspicions of corruption.
