“After seven years of government by declared pro-European parties of the right, it’s time for the state to be headed by a representative of the left so as to ensure a balance.” Such a statement was made by the chairman of the Party of Socialists Igor Dodon, who is under No. 8 on the ballot, in an interview of a series of electoral interviews conducted by IPN News Agency.
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– Mister Dodon, when many experts and politicians state that society is divided, what kind of President does the Republic of Moldova need?
– I think society is profoundly divided as a result of the geopolitical contradictions inside the Moldovan political class – some with pro-Romania views, while others with pro-Russia views. In Romania, they are all for the European integration, while in Russia they are all for keeping the statehood and, even if the opposition and the government struggle between them, when it is about the national interest they have a common view. The major problem of the Republic of Moldova is that we have always been divided according to geopolitical criteria during the 25 years of independence. We, the politicians, at a certain stage should grow up to the level when the geopolitical aspect is excluded. We must have a national idea – the people’s welfare. If we have a majority of people who will not want Moldova to unite with Romania or with Russia in the future, I think a number of problems accumulated during the 25 years will be solved.
As regards the kind of President the country needs, I would say that after seven years of government by declared pro-European parties of the right, it’s time for the state to be headed by a representative of the left so as to ensure a balance because the largest part of the population in the period was excluded from governance. Most of the population should be represented in the government, initially by the presidential institution and then, we will see, possibly by parliamentary elections.
– – What will you focus on while in the office of President, depending on the powers enjoyed by the Head of State by law? Do you think the future President should struggle for more powers?
– Moldova is a semi-presidential country. Evidently, the President chosen by the people does not have the powers that would match his mandate and the people’s confidence. At the same time, the President, in accordance with the current Constitution, has sufficient powers to impose his posiston on a number of issues related to the statehood and neutrality. I’m convinced that we have real chances to win, but we will face a reality when we will have a parliamentary alliance created by blackmail, a democratic, pro-European majority and a government chosen by this majority. It won’t be simple as the President will insist on particular subjects. I do not rule out the possibility that we will have to amend the Constitution at a particular stage. I think most of our people want a President who is not the representative of the current government, who would have a harsher position on the theft of the US$1 billion. I think the current Constitution also offers the President the possibility of making moves to the better.
– Should the President be elected directly or in Parliament?
– I always pleaded for direct elections. I repeatedly proposed in Parliament to amend the Constitution by parliamentary ways so as not to spend money on the referendum. We also submitted a similar initiative to the Constitutional Court, but this was rejected. When the Court rejected the initiative to amend the Constitution in Parliament, we came out and called on the people to sign for the initiation of referendums by other parties. The Constitution should have been modified, but by one of the two legal ways – in Parliament or by referendum, not by the judgment of the Constitutional Court.
– Which of the candidates for President you consider the worthiest?
– I will not give names, but we will work hard to win by the first round so that there is no runoff. I want to tell the people that it’s not good to spend money on the runoff vote. It’s clear that the candidate of the left will win only if the elections are not massively rigged. I think there are chances to avoid a runoff vote. We will do our best for the elections to end on October 30.
– The parliamentary elections and the local elections, especially in Chisinau, were influenced by the geopolitical factor. Do you think the choice in the upcoming elections will also be geopolitical?
– It depends whether there is the second round of voting or not. If the runoff vote involves a candidate of the opposition of the right, evidently the elections will have ideological and geopolitical shades. If the struggle is between the opposition and the government, I think the government will make the discussions geopolitical in character.
– What makes you different from the other candidates?
– We are actually very different from the other candidates. No one else centers on independence, statehood and neutrality in their programs. There are candidates who also speak about a powerful economy and social justice, but they propose nothing definite. We are the only ones who speak about our Orthodox faith and the relations of friendship with Russia. I detailed each point of the program and will make public our economic development program. We have a program that occupies several tens of pages and we have a team of important experts in the field.
– What measures will you take while in the office of President?
– One of the first steps that I will take is to annul the legislation that envisions that the people will repay the stolen US$1 billion. The money must be repaid by the thieves from the government. I’m aware that the President cannot annul laws, but this can take action to determine the annulment of such laws, including to initiate a referendum on this subject. At least a moratorium can be imposed for a year or two, until a part of the money is returned into the budget, given that those who are in power say that US$600 million was already identified.
At foreign level, I aim to restore the economic relations with the Russian Federation. I propose initiating trilateral negotiations: the Republic of Moldova – the EU – the Russian Federation. We have free trade agreements with the EU and with Russia, but the one with the Russian Federation does not work, regrettably. We must urgently reopen the Russian market. This is possible and we managed to reopen it for several companies while being in the opposition, without having any leverage.
– Does the problem reside in Chisinau or in Moscow?
– The problem resides in misunderstandings. That’s why I suggest a trilateral format. The Russian Federation says there is a risk that the goods made in the EU will be re-exported from Moldova, while the EU says there is no risk. I suggest sitting at the negotiating table and we will tell them that they struggle geopolitically, but we suffer.
Another aspect is related to the problem of migrants in the Russian Federation. There are tens of thousands of people who were banned from entering Russia. Another several hundred people have problems with the migration services and we must solve their problems.
Strengthening the statehood of Moldova is another priority for us. I refer to the banning of all kinds of unionist movements by law, either they want the union with Ukraine, Russia or Romania. For me, they are all alike and pose the same threats. The Constitution says that the Republic of Moldova is a neutral and independent state and, if the political organizations and not only they plead for the liquidation of statehood, they are considered unconstitutional.
The initiative to teach the history of Moldova in schools, as earlier, is also among the priorities. We are an independent state with a rich history of over 657 years and have what to be proud of.
– How can the Transnistrian conflict be settled? What is your position on the presence of Russian troops on the territory of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova?
– The Republic of Moldova is a neutral state and must remain as such. The neutrality status envisions that no foreign forces – American, Russian, Romanian – should be present on the country’s territory. I consider this objective will be achieved when we find a political solution to the Transnistrian issue. We openly stated that we are for creating a mechanism for federalizing the Republic of Moldova. I see that some fear this term, but they should suggest something else if they are afraid. I think we should give a special status of autonomous region with extended rights to the districts from the left side of the Nistru. The President cannot take such decisions, but he can propose negotiations, including to those from the left side of the Nistru, to conduct them, to invite foreign partners to them and, when the solution is identified, to propose amending the Constitution and to initiate a referendum. Some scare the people by saying that if Dodon is elected, everything will change. This is not so. We will take all the major decisions by referendum.
– Some of the candidates already said how they will act if the current parliamentary alliance proposes nominating particular persons for Premier. How will President Dodon act?
– President Dodon will not accept and will not field the candidate for Prime Minister proposed by the current parliamentary alliance, either this is Plahotniuc, Candu, Lupu or someone else. If we win the elections, the President will not sign such a decree.
– Why should the people go and vote on October 30 especially when there are political forces that call on them not to take part in elections?
– If we do not go to vote, this does not mean that the supporters of the right will also not go to vote. If the left boycotts the elections, the government will win the elections. What is this necessary for? Voronin (chairman of the Party of Communists, e.n.) should be proud if one of his pupils, I refer to myself, wins these elections. If I win, I will thank him and will admit that this is his merit too. Dear people, we struggled a lot to achieve two objectives – direct presidential elections and early parliamentary elections. One of the objectives was achieved. We should go and vote en masse and, after we win the presidential elections, we will make effort to achieve the second objective too – early legislative elections.
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