Parliament could revive old practice of constituting CEC

The Parliament could restore the old practice of constituting the Central Election Commission (CEC). Such a possibility was not excluded by the MPs that took part in a radio and television programme on the national public stations. Communist MP Vladimir Turcan, chairman of the legal commission for appointments and immunities, said that in a report, the Venice Commission does not hail the new method where political parties propose CEC members. He stressed that there is no bill envisaging the reviving of the old practice of constituting the CEC at the moment, 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. Vlad Cubreacov, leader of the Christian-Democratic parliamentary group, said that until 2005, when the Presidential Office, Parliament and Superior Council of Magistracy appointed by three CEC members, these were practically forced to fulfil government authorities’ orders. He also said that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe welcomed the new practices of electing CEC members. 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.