Parliament to choose referendum date today

The legislative body will come together for a sitting at 3pm today, July 7, to decide on the date of the referendum on modifying article 78 of the Constitution, which describes the procedure for electing the head of state. The constitutional amendment proposal submitted by the Alliance for European Integration was approved by the Constitutional Court on July 6. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, the leader of the Moldova Noastra Alliance Vasile Balan said a decision on the date of the referendum will be taken today. The MPs may also consider modifying the duties of the head of state in the eventuality of the people voting in favor of direct election. The president of honor of the PDM Dumitru Diacov said the same. The MP of the United Moldova Party Vladimir Turcan, who is a member of the legal commission for appointments and immunities, has told Info-Prim Neo's reporter that the decision on the constitutional referendum is in the agenda of the July 8 sitting of the Parliament. Yesterday evening, the Parliament's press service issued a communique, saying all the MPs were invited to the July 7 sitting to adopt a decision as regards the amendment of article 78 of the Constitution {“so as to reach a parliamentary consensus to unlock the constitutional crisis and, respectively, avoid a national referendum.”} “The PCRM has not yet decided whether to go to the sitting,” MP Iurie Muntean, the secretary of the Communists Party's Central Committee, stated for Info-Prim Neo. “Somebody must work in this country, not only attend sittings,” he said. The Alliance for European Integration's constitutional amendment proposal provides for the direct election of the head of state. If none of the candidates for presidency wins 50% +1 of the votes, a second round of voting will be held involving the two candidates who polled most of the votes. Now the head of state is elected by the vote of 2/3 of the MPs, i.e. 61 seats of 101. Article 78 is to be modified because the President could not be elected during over a year.