The next parliamentary elections may take place in the period between November 28, 2014 and February 28, 2015. Under the legislation, the elections are held within 30 days of the expiration of the Parliament’s mandate.
Secretary of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Andrei Volentir has told IPN that interpretations concerning the period during which elections can be organized appear because the legislation stipulates two notions – the Parliament’s mandate and the MP’s mandate. The Parliament’s mandate starts with the constitution meeting, while the MP’s mandate starts on the election day. Thus, the lawmaker’s mandate is longer. “This is provided in the Constitution, but the Constitutional Court interpreted the constitutional norms and ruled that the Parliament’s mandate starts also on the election day,” he said.
Contacted by IPN, CEC chairman Iurie Ciocan said that in 1997 the Constitutional Court pronounced on the matter and the Court’s decisions are decisive.
Earlier, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Vlad Filat said the elections will take place at the end of this November as an election campaign during the winter holidays is not wanted.
On the other hand, Democratic MP Sergiu Sarbu said the legislative elections can be held in 2015 too, by the end of March, as the Parliament’s mandate started at the end of December 2010.
He added that the Democratic Party drafted a bill to amend the electoral system, but it wasn’t yet registered. According to the good practices of the Council of Europe, it is not recommended to amend the electoral system later than one year before the elections.
