The democratic institutions in Moldova should be thoroughly monitored on the spot with the assistance of the Council of Europe and delegations of the European Union given the crisis witnessed in the country, director of the Instituted for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” Igor Munteanu stated in the talk show “Black box” on TV8 channel, IPN reports.
Igor Munteanu said a similar situation was seen in 2003, when a series of deviations from the democratic norms were witnessed and the then President Vladimir Voronin tried to impose the idea of the vertical of power and to exclude the local elected officials because these didn’t represent the Party of Communists. The opposition sought in the street help from the Council of Europe and the then Secretary General of the CoE sent to Chisinau a mission to monitor the democratic institutions. “I think the situation is now similar and the democratic institutions should be scrupulously monitored on the spot, with the assistance of the Council of Europe and of delegations of the European Union as it is a crisis situation,” he noted, adding the people expect the recent developments will repeat at the parliamentary elections and this would affect the whole political agenda for 2018.
Igor Munteanu said the fact that the main city of the country does not have an elected mayor goes against the European Charter of Local Self-Government. Moldova should show that it plays by the rules, but it shows how empty the courts of law are and how powerful the political pressure is.
Iulian Groza, executive director of the Instituted for European Policies and Reforms, said we should not expect direct instructions from the EU and the U.S. telling how the Moldovan authorities should do to remedy the situation because these foreign partners do not give instructions, as other current and former partners would not give. “What the EU and the U.S. can do is to attract society’s attention to their attitude to particular involutions or deviations in the Republic of Moldova. There is a common message that these transmit to society and the authorities. The message is the following : 1. The invalidation of elections by an act of justice affects the democratic institutions; 2. The authorities are urged to take action to make sure the citizens’ vote is respected, 3. The government is responsible for the way justice functions,” stated Iulian Groza.
The U.S. Department of State on June 29 published a statement saying the Moldovan Supreme Court’s non-transparent decision to uphold the invalidation of Chisinau’s June 3 mayoral elections represents a threat to Moldovan democracy. Earlier, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Iohannes Hahn said they expect the Moldovan authorities to take appropriate measures to ensure that the results of the Chisinau mayoral elections, as recognized also by national and international observers and reflecting the will of the voters, are respected.
