The electoral system change will be put to the vote in the final reading in the near future and the recommendations of the Venice Commission will be taken into account, the president of the Democratic Party (PDM) Vladimir Plahotniuc said after the ordinary weekly meeting of the party. He noted that the PDM’s team that paid a visit to Brussels told the European officials straightforwardly that the bill to change the electoral system will be passed in the final reading and presented the arguments and motivation that make the government press ahead with this reform, IPN reports.
Vladimir Plahotniuc said the motivation is related to the wish of the majority of people to choose the MPs themselves, as they choose the mayor or the President. “We showed to the partners that we are ready to take the recommendations of the Venice Commission into account, but we are as determined to promote the wish of the people to be represented directly. We told them honestly that we will adopt the bill in the second reading and explained why and how we will do this to them,” said the leader of the PDM.
During the next few days, the PDM will initiate discussions with politicians and representatives of society so that the change in the electoral system is brought in strict compliance with the Venice Commission’s recommendations, said Vlad Plahotniuc. He called on the opposition to stop struggling with the people who want to be able to choose their representatives in Parliament directly.
The Democratic leader noted that Brussels was furnished with incorrect information about Moldova by political forces that want to destabilize the situation in the country. In the future, to avoid erroneous information, there will be staged periodical visits and meetings with European officials to provide them with correct information.
It should be noted that in a letter addressed to President Igor Dodon, Prime Minister Pavel Filip and Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu on June 26, 25 members of the European Parliament express their concern about the latest developments in the Republic of Moldova. The letter makes reference to the Venice Commission’s opinion, which says the replacement of the current party-list proportional representation system with the mixed-member one implies a number of risks, such as the influencing of MP election by third persons who pursue their own goals.
“We would like to remind you that Moldova needs to take immediate steps to ensure transparent and legal funding of political parties and of election campaigns to stop corruption groups from capturing power,” reads the letter of the 25 MPs.
