The Government asked the Constitutional Court (CC) to interpret Article 98, par. (6) of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and determine the actions that can be taken by the Premier and the decisions that can be adopted by Parliament if the President of the Republic of Moldova rejects the candidate for minister the second time. A decision to this effect was taken in a special meeting of the Cabinet on September 19, IPN reports.
According to the Government’s press service, the decision is aimed at avoiding an institutional blockage at the Ministry of Defense given that the CC earlier partially pronounced on the issue, but not to the extent to which any ambiguous interpretation can be excluded. “The Constitutional Court’s judgment of March 1999 specifies that the fulfillment of the duty to name the Government by the President of the Republic of Moldova, based on the vote of confidence given by Parliament, is mandatory and does not depend on the will of the Head of State. The President cannot refuse to name the Government and the process should be compliant with the exigencies that derive from the vote of confidence given by Parliament,” says the press release.
It is noted that the CC judges concluded that the President of the Republic of Moldova does not have the right not to name the Government even if he does not agree with its nominal composition. The non-fulfillment of the constitutional duties by the President would lead in this case to the violation of the principle of separation and cooperation of powers in the state, which is stipulated in Article 6 of the Constitution.
The move follows the refusal by President Igor Dodon to sign the decree to name the deputy chairman of the European People’s Party of Moldova Eugen Sturza, who was proposed by the government coalition, as minister of defense.
