Head of OSCE Mission in favor of modifying constitutional article 78 before early elections

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Philip Remler backs the Acting President Mihai Ghimpu's position that article 78 of the Constitution should be modified before announcing early elections, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communique from the presidential press service. In a meeting, Mihai Ghimpu told Philip Remler that the Alliance for European Integration complied with the recommendations to amend article 78 made by the Venice Commission, and suggested a method that can help break the political stalemate - the election of the head of state directly by the people. “Regretfully, the Communists Party did not support the Alliance's proposal and submitted its own proposal to the Constitutional Court, which is not aimed at breaking the deadlock,” Mihai Ghimpu said. For his part, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova said it will be ideal if the constitutional reform commission suggests a solution that will be accepted by all the parties. The PCRM proposes holding three rounds of presidential elections in Parliament, instead of two. It says the winner in the third round must be elected by a simple majority of votes (51), not 61 as at present. Mihai Ghimpu and Philip Remler also discussed the arrest of the freelance journalist Ernest Vardanyan by the Transnistrian security forces on April 7. Ghimpu said the authorities are making effort to set the journalist free and asked the OSCE Mission to make approaches to the Russian Embassy and international organizations in this respect. Ernest Vardanyan was placed under arrest for two months. He is accused of betraying the state and spying for Moldova and is liable to up to 20 years behind bars.