A group of NGOs issued a statement by which they condemn the distorting of the democratic process in the Republic of Moldova by the way in which the Filip Government was formed, voted and invested. “This seriously affects confidence in this Government. We call on the decision makers to respect the rule of law principles and the legislation and to restore confidence in the state institutions by rapid and firm actions,” says the statement, quoted by IPN.

Civil society says the agenda of the Parliament sitting where a vote of confidence was to be given to the Government was made public at 12 noon on January 20. At that hour, neither the draft government program nor the list of Cabinet members was known. At 4:40pm, Parliament gave a vote of confidence to candidate Pavel Filip and his Cabinet. The Government was voted in a sitting that lasted for about 30 minutes. The candidate read his speech during eight minutes and presented the Cabinet members during two minutes.

“Arbitrarily, the session of answers and questions was omitted. The government program and the list of Cabinet members weren’t debated, in breach of the Constitution. The signatory organizations condemn the haste in which the new Government was invested and consider that the way in which the Cabinet was installed was contrary to the democratic norms and constitutional provisions,” reads the statement.

Moreover, the procedure for swearing in the Cabinet was held the same day, close to midnight, in secret, after the public was officially informed that the swearing in ceremony would take place the next day.

The signatories of the statement say the aforementioned circumstances prevent them from trusting the Cabinet voted on January 20 until this does not prove the opposite by concrete actions. They condemn any violence against the protesters, politicians and police, saying the peaceful protests are the most democratic method of expressing dissatisfaction with authorities’ actions.

Civil society warns that the government should assume responsibility for the worsening of the situation following the unconstructive attitude to protesters’ demands and the lack of effective dialogue with the protesters.

Among the signatories are the Resource Center “Dialog-Pro”, the Association of Independent Press, the Independent Journalism Center, the Legal Resources Center of Moldova, the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul”, Transparency International Moldova, the Institute for Public Policy, the Moldova Institute for Human Rights and the Foreign Policy Association. The list of signatories remains open.