After almost four months of the signing of the decree to initiate the national consultative referendum by President Igor Dodon, the plebiscite’s fate remains uncertain. The Government said no money for holding the referendum was budgeted for this year and the costs should be thus set by Parliament, at the suggestion of the Central Election Commission (CEC). In an answer to an inquiry by IPN, the legislative body said the documents will be examined in accordance with the law and its power when they reach Parliament.
Asked by IPN to say at what stage the organization of the referendum is, presidential adviser Maxim Lebedinski said the decree was signed and it is the duty of the CEC to form electoral constituencies and electoral offices, to approve the plan of action, etc. The financing is within the remit of the Government and Parliament is to also pronounce.
CEC communicator Rodica Sarbu has told IPN that the CEC does not possess additional information than the one that has been made public until now. After the President’s decree was published in the Official Gazette, the CEC approved the expenditure estimate and sent it to the Government and Parliament for the financial resources needed to organize and hold the plebiscite to be identified. The Commission hasn’t yet received an answer.
In its response to IPN’s inquiry, the Government says the President’s decree on the holding of the national consultative referendum on problems of national interest was published in the Official Gazette on March 31, 2017. Consequently, the 2017 state budget law does not include money for organizing and holding the plebiscite. Under the Election Code, if the costs for preparing and holding elections were not earmarked in the state budget for a particular year, their size is set by Parliament at the suggestion of the CEC.
On July 26, the Constitutional Court is to examine the Liberal MPs’ application to determine the constitutionality of the President’s decree to hold the referendum signed on March 28.
The plebiscite is to take place on September 24 and the citizens are to answer four questions regarding the conversion of the emergency loans provided by the central bank to the three bankrupt banks into a state debt, the provision of more powers to the President to dissolve Parliament, the necessity of reducing the number of MPs from 101 to 71 and the teaching of the History of Moldova course in schools. The CEC agreed an expenditure estimate of 74.7 million lei for organizing the plebiscite.
