A bill drafted by a group of Democratic MPs led by Vlad Plahotniuc, which provides for the switchover to the joint electoral system with half of the lawmakers to be elected directly by the people, was passed by the legislature in the first reading on Thursday, IPN reports.
Under the bull, 51 lawmakers will continue to be elected under party lists as now, while 50 lawmakers will be elected in uninominal constituencies. This means that the voters will receive by two ballots, except for those who are abroad and those from the Transnistrian region. They will vote only within the national constituency.
The bill caused debates in Parliament. The Communist opposition didn’t vote, arguing that the bill wasn’t discussed with experts of the Council of Europe.
On the other hand, Democratic MP Adrian Candu, one of the bill authors, said the bill was formulated following proposals made by international organizations too. Initially, the Democrats proposed switching to the uninominal electoral system, but, as a result of discussions, they reached the conclusion that society and the political class are not ready for such a radical change.
He denied the assertions that the new regulations will affect the political system at party level, saying the political organizations will be able to compete in elections both with party lists and with candidates in uninominal constituencies. At the same time, the new regulations will make the elected officials more responsible towards the voters.
In order to take effect, the bill is to be passed in the second reading.
