No early elections will take place, constitutional expert

Whatever the outcome of the presidential election on March 16, Moldova could face new, repeated or ordinary elections, but certainly not early elections, or at least not instantly, says constitutional expert Corneliu Gurin. According to him, if until March 12, the deadline for nominating presidential candidates, no candidate is approved, then Parliament will have to postpone the election and call a new one, that is, ordinary elections. “For how long the new session can be postponed is not clear. There isn't a strict time limit and it's left to Parliament's discretion. If by the time of the new session there is no candidate registered again, then repeated elections should be called”, Gurin told Info-Prim Neo. Alternatively, if at least one candidate is registered for the March 16 election and he/she fails to collect 61 votes, repeated elections should take place within 30 days. If there are two candidates, a runoff should be held within 10 days. If on March 16 the quorum of 61 MPs is not met, a new date for elections should be announced, and these should not be considered repeated elections, or a runoff, but new elections. “If nothing happens on this new date, there isn't any provision to prescribe what happens next. This means that elections can be again postponed for an undetermined period”, said Corneliu Gurin. However, if on March 16 sixty-one MPs participate and they fail to elect a registered candidate in the ordinary election and then in the repeated election, Parliament should dissolve and only then will early elections be announced. However, no exact time limit is stipulated for this case either.