Marian Lupu says revision of method of constituting CEC was being discussed

Political groups and commissions discussed the modification of the method of constituting the Central Election Commission (CEC), but the discussions were conceptual, similar to those when it is decided whether to propose a draft law or not, Speaker Marian Lupu said on February 7. He said yet that there has never been such a bill and no such initiative was put up formally. The Parliament’s Standing Bureau did not discuss such a possibility either. The Speaker also said that in the present circumstances such a draft law is unlikely to be launched and he himself considers that it is not opportunely. Lupu said that the modification of the method of establishing the election authority could run counter to certain elementary norms of a democratic state. “Such changes are not made one year before the elections,” he said. Several weeks ago, the chairman of the legal commission for appointments and immunities Vladimir Turcan said that in a report, the Venice Commission does not hail the new method where political parties propose CEC members. He stressed that there was no bill envisaging the reviving of the old practice of constituting the CEC, but did not rule out that one could appear in the near future. Leader of the Democratic Party Dumitru Diacov said that discussions about such an amendment are held behind the scenes. A bill will soon appear if there are discussions, he said. Under the amendments to the Electoral Code introduced in 2005, the Central Electoral Commission is composed of nine members with deliberative vote: one member is designated by the President of Moldova, one by the Government and seven by the Parliament, five of whom by the Opposition parties proportionally to the number of seats held. The CEC members are irremovable and elected for a five-year term.