NGOs call on AEI to name persons to posts by open contest

A number of 35 nongovernmental organizations called upon the leaders of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) not to allow appointing persons to key posts according to strictly party criteria. They urged the politicians to institute the practice of selecting candidates for sector managers by open contest, Info-Prim Neo reports. Civil society proposed that the AEI should choose the candidates by open contest, with the participation of specialists and the general public, based on clear selection criteria and by specifying the qualification requirements for the candidates. “We consider that the AEI gained enough governance experience to accept advanced and modern methods of naming persons to key posts, rather than by distributing the candidates mechanically according to party criteria,” it is said in an appeal signed by the 35 NGOs. According to the authors of the appeal, the old, Communist-like model when the party membership is the only criteria for managing an area is counterproductive and seriously affects the state institutions, the people and the country in general. The tragic case in the Domneasca Forest that resulted in the death of a man should become a turning point in the AEI’s approach to sectors, institutions, positions, and staff. The NGOs said the transparent election of a new director of “Moldsilva” Agency can be a good start for naming back professionals to manage vital areas for Moldova as in this case it’s clear that the forests belong to the people, not to a certain political party. The same is true about the Prosecutor General’s Office and other institutions. The representatives of civil society said the fundamental reformation of the state institutions and their adjustment to the European standards can be done by the most devoted and best professionals from the main fields of Moldova.