PACE monitors to arrive in Moldova Sept. 3

A delegation of 15 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), headed by Andreas Gross, will be in Moldova during September 3-6 to monitor the September 5 constitutional referendum, the PACE's Communications Division has said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. The PACE is the only European parliamentary organization that will oversee the plebiscite in Moldova. The delegation will be accompanied by a member of the Venice Commission and a group of independent law experts of the Council of Europe. The delegation's working program includes meetings with the Acting President, leaders of political parties, the president of the Constitutional Court, members of the Central Election Commission, representatives of civil society and the mass media, before the referendum. The preliminary monitoring conclusions will be announced in a news conference on September 6 at Leogrand Hotel in Chisinau. On September 5, voters will be asked whether they are in favor or against amending Article 78 of the Constitution so that it allows for direct election of the head of state.