Mihai Ghimpu was elected as Speaker legally, law experts

The leader of the Liberal Party Mihai Ghimpu was elected as Head of Parliament legally, consider law experts, who discussed the subject at a roundtable meeting on Friday, Info-Prim Neo reports. [Victor Popa, expert in constitutional law,] said that the Communists Party was not deprived of the right to participate in the election of the Speaker or to field candidates. It left the assembly hall voluntarily. Mihai Ghimpu was named to the post by a majority vote. According to Victor Popa, the Constitutional Court shouldnʼt have accepted the PCRMʼs contestation for examination as the election of Ghimpu is a procedural issue stipulated in the Parliamentʼs regulations, not in the Constitution. The 13 articles from the Constitution invoked by the Communists cannot influence the legality of the appointment of the Speaker. As to the September 4 sitting called by the Communists, Popa said that de jure it was not a parliamentary sitting, but a party meeting. The fact that the first meeting of the Parliament was interrupted shows that the oldest MP Ivan Calin misused his authority and committed an illegality by announcing a break, without consulting all the MPs. “The interruption of the Parliamentʼs sitting by Ivan Calin was illegal as the Parliament was already constituted legally and a decision is made by a majority vote,” Victor Popa said. “Calin had no reason to close the sitting as the proposal submitted by a minor parliamentary group (the PCRM) was not put to the vote, but the minority obeys the majority as it is well known,” said [Alexandru Arsene, doctor of law and university lecturer]. On the other hand, [the law expert Serghei Turcanu] said that the Parliamentʼs regulations do not specify the ways of announcing a break. Therefore, there is room for interpretation. According to specialists, the Communistsʼ reason for asking for a break for constituting the parliamentary group is groundless. [Senior lecturer Ion Creanga] said that the meeting could be continued even if the parliamentary group was not formed and that the 10 days asked by the Communists is a time limit, but is not obligatory. The PCRM challenged the election of Mihai Ghimpu as Speaker on August 28 in the Constitutional Court as the Communists did not take part in the vote. The oldest MP Ivan Calin, who chaired the sitting then, announced a break until September 4. The four Liberal-Democratic parties that formed the parliamentary majority decided to continue the meeting. The Constitutional Court will pass its judgment on the PCRMʼs contestation on September 8.