President Igor Dodon said the dismissal of Vladimir Țurcan from the post of president of the Constitutional Court showed that nether the Party of Socialists nor he as the President intended to politically control the CC. However, he noted he will analyze things to determine if there were politicians behind the decisions taken recently by the Court.
“I would like to see the face of those who said that Dodon brought the CC under control. Last year I said that it was not in the Socialists’ interest to control a court. What is going on now shows that the Socialists and President Igor Dodon do not control the CC and didn’t pursue such a goal. As regards the decision this takes, I will try, at least at this stage, not to comment on them out of respect for the Court as a state institution,” Igor Dodon stated in the talk show “Direct Access” on NTV Moldova channel.
Besides removing former Socialist MP Vladimir Țurcan from the post of president of the CC, the constitutional judges also accepted MP Sergiu Sîrbu’s application to suspend the challenged documents and the procedure for enforcing the law to ratify the lending agreement between Moldova and the Russian Federation for the provision of a state financial loan to Moldova.
“We must establish what’s there behind these last decisions so as to see if someone tried to bring the CC under political control. I’m firmly convinced that this will not be permitted and, if we see that someone tries to use the CC as a political instrument, as at the time of Plahotniuc, we will use all the legal measures not to allow this. I believe that if such a path is followed, arguments will be found, including for our foreign partners, to challenge the taking of such decisions. I remind you that when the CC became a political instrument in the hands of political parties, as it happened until last June, that activity was penalized, including by our partners, the Venice Commission. If the same approach is adopted, I’m sure that penalties will come both form inside and outside,” stated Igor Dodon.
On April 23, the members of the Constitutional Court dismissed Vladimir Țurcan from the post of CC president and elected judge Domnica Manole instead of him. The same day, the CC suspended the law to ratify the lending agreement between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Government of the Russian Federation for the provision of a state financial loan of €200 million to Moldova following an application filed by the parliamentary opposition.
