The President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio said the modification of the electoral law in the electoral context of the Republic of Moldova is not the best variant because the mixed system could create dangerous connections between elected persons and the business community, IPN reports.
“We transmitted two opinions to Chisinau: last year and this March. Everything started two years ago, when the first attempt to introduce the mixed system was made. We said then, in our opinion, that this is not a good idea for Moldova. And they gave up then. Surely, it is the sovereign right of any country to adopt what electoral system they want,” Gianni Buquicchio stated in an interview for Radio Free Europe.
According to the official, the changes were made and nothing can be done already. “We should be optimistic and follow how the changes are put into practice, if they are applied fairly or not,” said the President of the Venice Commission.
He also said that Romania, Poland and Hungary are only several of the EU member states that made controversial amendments to the legislation, bringing the functioning of democracy into question, despite the recommendations of the Venice Commission. “Before the entry, we worked a lot with such countries as Romania to implement measures to strengthen the independence of the judiciary. Now that they are in the EU, they seem not to care so much,” noted Gianni Buquicchio, adding there are few countries aspiring to become members of the EU that ignore the opinions of experts.
