The holding of a referendum on amending the Constitution so that it allows for direct election of the head of state simultaneously with the November 30 parliamentary elections caused debates between two heavyweights of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), which submitted the relevant initiative, and the Decorate Party, who were invited to the program “Politics” on TV7 channel, IPN reports.
The head of the Liberal-Democratic parliamentary group Valeriu Strelet said this initiative should not be a surprise for the colleagues from the government coalition because it has been discussed for a period. “We must solve this problem so as not to face again political crises that would lead to early elections. There are no prohibitions against holding the referendum simultaneously with the parliamentary elections. It’s not known what political configuration will be there after the elections and it may be impossible to hold a plebiscite afterward. We speak about ordinary changes that would spare us from headaches,” he argued.
On the other hand, the president of honor of the Democratic Party Dumitru Diacov opposed such an initiative, saying the problem hasn’t been discussed earlier. “Moldova had two Presidents elected directly by the people. This practice led to serious disagreement between the branches of power. I don’t say that we are categorically against the direct election of the head of state. But we do not want this thing to be done on a hurry. We must discuss this problem and see what powers the head of state should have. Otherwise, we will face conflicts, an unstable power. We want a stable, modern and long-lasting government system,” he stated.
In a direct telephone connection, the deputy chairman of the Liberal Party Valeriu Munteanu also opposed the PLDM’s initiative, even if he is for the direct election of the President. “The PLDM put forward such an idea in order to distract people’s attention from the responsibilities of the government. Such problems should not be solved in an electoral period. The amendment of the Constitution will lead to the modification of the role of institutions, not only of the head of state,” he said.
The program’s permanent invitee Igor Botan said that even if he is for a parliamentary model and the indirect election of the head of state, in Moldova’s case he is for the direct election of the President. “Starting with 2001, we have witnessed a series of political crises that led to early elections. I do not want this situation to repeat in 2016,” he stated.
