The amendments to the Election Code in the form in which they are seen by the international community and the European partners clip the power’s wings, Sergei Manastîrlî, director of the Research, Analysis and Forecasts Center “Balkan Center”, stated in IPN’s public debate “Autumn of elections: expectations and challenges in European development context”.
“Consequently, there will be no possibility of using the administrative resources, manipulations, black political technologies and shadow financing. The government will be actually placed in the same conditions as the opposition and the power surely does not like this,” said the expert, commenting on the disagreements around the amendments to the Election Code and the Venice Commission’s reaction to them.
According to him, many of the amendments proposed by the government coalition look at least strange. “I mean the shortening of the voting time by two hours. Do they try to cause queues at polling places during the pandemic or what? Another aspect is the attempt to press the media. The Audiovisuals Council is empowered to withdraw licenses if it considers that the mass media non-objectively cover the electoral process. This thing generated bewilderment, including in the Venice Commission, which recently reminded that any amendment should be based on international legislative principles and on broad public consensus,” noted Sergey Manastîrlî.
He is sure that the MPs try to invent the bicycle. “Four years ago, the Constitutional Court recommended a series of amendments to the electoral legislation so as to make sure that the next presidential elections are held without violations. But the MPs preferred to treat these recommendations with indifference and such an attitude gives reasons for declaring the presidential elections invalid, noncompliant with the law and to demand their annulment and the replacement of the administration for the reason that schemes are applied for the purpose of keeping power. In fact, this is usurpation of the power,” stated Sergey Manastîrlî.
According to jurist Ștefan Gligor, IPN project’s standing expert, the amendments are actually adopted in breach of the Venice Commission’s recommendations. “Any changes should be beneficial to the next electoral cycles so that they could be studied and applied correctly. In our realities, this thing never worked,” stated the expert.
He noted the amendment by which it is proposed empowering the CEC to remove the candidate from the electoral race without a court decision is conclusive. “Competent persons consider the courts of law often committed violations that delayed the examination of challenges. On the other hand, there are situations when employees of electoral councils are aware of the committed violations. This is a two-edged problem. Instead of the problem being solved fundamentally, they resort to the transfer of powers from one level to another. Consequently, there is the effect of obedience not to the law, but to those who control the parliamentary majority,” stated Ștefan Gligor.
The public debate “Autumn of elections: expectations and challenges in European development context” was held as part of the project “Overcoming stereotypes of European integration through communication” that is implemented with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
