The Democratic Party (PDM) considers it is regrettable that the opposition parties that took part in the May 7 protest cowardly hide behind several NGOs that they politicized and use against the people who want to choose the MPs directly in the future elections. “These parties discredited not only the idea of protest, but today also tried to discredit the idea of civil society,” the PDM says in a press release, quoted by IPN.

The Democrats said they respect the opinion of the several dozen participants who protested against the modification of the electoral system and against the people’s right to choose the MPs directly, as they choose the mayors and the country’s President. “But the opposition should also respect the right of the 853,000 people who signed for the replacement of the electoral system and no longer want the politicians to indicate them who to vote in as MPs,” read the press release.

On May 7, representatives of opposition parties, their sympathizers and representatives of civil society mounted a protest against the introduction of a new electoral system in front of the Parliament Building. The protesters expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that the MPs passed the two bills – on the uninominal voting system and on the mixed-member system – in the first reading and then decided to merge them.