Extraparliamentary parties lack ideas and launch referendum-like initiatives, opinion

Political analyst Valentin Dolganiuc considers the initiative of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) to organize a referendum on Moldova’s entry into the Eurasian Customs Union is an example showing that the extraparliamentary parties lack ideas as to how they should assert themselves on the political arena. He made related statements in the program “Fabrica” on Publika TV, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The referendum mobilizes the people, especially the party members. Secondly, the party will make itself heard as its members will speak with about 200,000 persons,” said the analyst. Political analyst Igor Botan said the Social-Democrats’ initiative is reasonable as it enables the party members to talk directly to the people, while Parliament will find itself in a very delicate situation if it does not vote in favor of this referendum. Now that the initiative was registered, a campaign for and against collecting signatures has started. The option of Moldova’s entry into the Eurasian Customs Union will annihilate the European integration efforts. But it is the legislature that will decide if the referendum will take place or not. In the same program, the leader of the Democratic Action Party Mihai Godea said that a referendum can be initiated on important problems, but this issue is not an important one. “The Social-Democrats suggest joining a despotic, non-democratic area,” stated the unaffiliated MP. The chairwoman of the National Liberal Party Vitalia Pavlichenko said that this referendum is nothing serious in fact. “The Alliance for European Integration did not do what it could do during three years and thus leaves room for such doomed projects,” she stated. On April 13, the Central Election Commission registered the PSD’s initiative to hold a national referendum on Moldova’s entry into the Eurasian Customs Union. For the plebiscite to take place, the organizers need to collect the signatures of at least 200,000 people eligible to vote.