Expert Igor Boțan said the dismissal of the current Government is possible theoretically, not yet in practice. Also, the chances of naming a new Government until the elections are very slim as the Head of State, as he declared publicly, would place obstacles in the appointment of a new Prime Minister that would be proposed by an eventual new parliamentary majority. The statements were made in a public debate entitled “Snap parliamentary elections and/or replacement of Government: probability, risks, benefits” that was organized by IPN News Agency.
Igor Boțan, the standing expert of IPN’s project, said that theoretically the current Government can be dismissed if there was a parliamentary majority that would vote a no-confidence motion. But the President said that he would simply not sign the decree to appoint the candidate purposed for Prime Minister. He would thus have to be again dismissed “for five minutes”, but it would be a shame for the new majority to use the procedures related to the vacancy of the post applied earlier.
According to the expert, even if this path is followed, there is a risk that the Speaker of Parliament, as the acting President, would refuse to sign the decree to appoint a new Premier. “In this case, there will be no time and forces as the Speaker is removed by two thirds of MPs. It is also absurd to speak about an eventual impeachment given that only half a year remained until the presidential elections,” stated Igor Boțan.
He said a new parliamentary majority could be supported in only one case: “Society will understand an ad-hoc coalition between the ACUM Bloc, the Pro-Moldova parliamentary group and the Shor Party in particular conditions, namely if it is confirmed what the Pro Moldova leader Andrian Candu stated and evidence that the Head of State is corrupt is provided. In such a case, society and the development partners would accept such a coalition so that the President is removed.”
The expert referred also to the case when an eventual no-confidence motion is voted in Parliament. According to him, the Government during a pandemic crisis, followed by an economic crisis, will be outgoing, with fewer powers, and this is the biggest risk. “When threw is a pandemic, a crisis caused by the drought, the Government should not be limited in powers,” he said.
According to Igor Boțan, the continuation of the defections from the Democratic Party would be another risk as even a fully-fledged Government would not enjoy support in Parliament for adopting necessary laws.
The debate “Snap parliamentary elections and/or replacement of Government: probability, risks, benefits” was the 134th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture through public debates” that are supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.