'First elect president, then amend Constitution'

Gianni Buquicchio, the president of the Venice Commission advised that Moldova should first elect the president of the country before introducing any amendments to the Constitution, according to the online publication KP.md. “I think that, in Moldova's interest, it is crucial to overcome the crisis related to the election of the country's president and start working for the country. And only then can the Constitution be amended. We would not want to examine any constitutional review proposal before the political crisis is solved”, said Gianni Buquicchio at a meeting with Moldova's acting President Marian Lupu. As part of his first visit to the Council of Europe as acting President, Marian Lupu also met with CoE Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland and many other Strasbourg-based top officials. The European officials stressed the need for Moldova to overcome the political crisis and make progress with reform. They also called on all the political parties in Moldova, including the opposition Party of Communists, to vote in a head of state. In particular, Gianni Buquicchio thinks that the election of a president is paramount to the continuation of reforms in Moldova and to the country's advancement to the CoE post-monitoring stage. “I believe judicial reform is the top priority and we are ready to further assist Moldova in this respect. And, of course, it is very important to overcome the political impasse and vote in the president of the country in order to focus on real political issues. I hope all the political parties in the country are able to follow the interest of the entire country”, stated CoE Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland. The Moldovan delegation also met with Jean-Louis Laurens, CoE's Director General of Democracy and Political Affairs, to discuss the latest developments in the Transnistrian issue and the current political situation in Chisinau. Further, the Moldovan delegation met with Raphaël Alomar, the Governor of CoE's Development Bank, and with Thomas Hammarberg, CoE's Human Rights Commissioner. “We exchanged opinions on the political situation in Moldova and agreed that we need the current Parliament and Government to serve a full four-year term in order to be able to promote the necessary reforms”, said Marian Lupu at the end of the meeting.