The president of the Democratic Party Vladimir Plahotniuc on September 12 announced that the deputy chairman of the European People’s Party of Moldova Eugen Sturza is the government coalition’s candidate for the post of minister of defense. The next day, President Igor Dodon rejected officially this candidate, whom he earlier called a “grants boy” and an “office reformist”. President Dodon recommended the Government to examine General Victor Gaiciuc as a candidate for this post. He argued that Victor Gaiciuc is a military professional. He graduated from a military aviation school, studied at a military academy in Moscow and attended courses at the NATO Defense College in Rome. Later the same day, in the meeting of the Cabinet, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said he received the President’s letter informing about the rejection of Eugen Sturza for the post of minister of defense, but he will yet field this candidate again. As regards Victor Gaiciuc, the Premier said the President does not have such powers and if Igor Dodon rejects again the proposed candidate, this will flout the Constitution.
On September 12, the president of the Democratic Party Vlad Plahotniuc said the PDM will initiate the procedure for amending the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova so that this stipulates that the European integration is Moldova’s strategic orientation. The initiative is based on the September 9, 2014 judgment of the Constitutional Court, which specifies that the orientation to the European system of democratic values is a defining element of the constitutional identity of the Republic of Moldova. The Party of Socialists reacted, saying any intervention in the text of the fundamental law, without holding public debates and without securing the support of the people and of the absolute majority of MPs, is inappropriate. In a press statement, the party said the country’s strategic development course can and should be decided by the Moldovans at a referendum.
On September 12, the Chisinau Municipal Council set the date of the local referendum on the dismissal of Dorin Chirtoaca from the post of mayor general of Chisinau. The inhabitants of Chisinau and its suburbs are expected to cast their votes in the plebiscite on November 19. The decision was taken by 26 votes in favor. Ion Ceban, chairman of the Socialist group on the Council, said the materials presented by the initiative group to court contain over 5,000 pages that refer to such offenses as influence peddling and acts of corruption committed by the administration of Chisinau during the past 10 years. The residents of Chisinau municipality will have to answer only one question in the referendum, namely: “Are you for dismissing Mister Dorin Chirtoaca from the post of mayor general?”.
On September 13, Liberal-Democratic MPs announced that they drafted a bill to amend Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. The Lib-Dems propose replacing the sentence “Moldovan language that functions based on the Latin script” with “Romanian language” and call on all the parliamentary groups to sign the document so that it is submitted to the Constitutional Court for appraisal. The informative note to the bill says the document was drafted based on the Constitutional Court’s judgment of December 2013, which stipulates that in case of disagreements between the text of the Declaration of Independence and the text of the Constitution, the primary constitutional text of the Declaration of Independence prevails.
Also on September 13, President Igor Dodon presented a series of proposals that will be registered for being examined in the new parliamentary session. One of the initiatives provides that if a person dies one or two years before retirement, his family will be able to collect the pension during five years. Another initiative envisions the introduction of a zero tax on incomes reinvested by legal entities in the budgetary-fiscal policy for 2018. Under another proposal, a tax rate of 36% will be imposed on the revenues earned by commercial banks from the difference in exchange rates. A program intended for young families, which is promoted by the presidential administration, envisions the provision of home loans repayable in 20 years, at an annual interest rate of up to 5%.
The new Ambassador of the European Union in Chisinau Peter Michalko presented the credentials to President Igor Dodon in a meeting on September 13. Igor Dodon and Peter Michalko agreed to meet next week to discuss in detail Moldova’s domestic and foreign policy, the bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the situation in the region and other issues of major importance for the Republic of Moldova.
The lawyers for Vlad Filat on September 14 announced that they submitted a new appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice in the case of the ex-Premier. Lawyer Igor Popa requested the Court to quash the decisions of the national courts, to retry the case and to pronounce a new judgment by which Vlad Filat would be acquitted and set free. In a press release, the defense said the annulment appeal (an extraordinary appeal method) was filed because the domestic law enables the Supreme Court to remedy the abuses and violations committed when trying Vlad Filat. In August, Vlad Filat filed an application to the ECHR. The former Prime Minister complained that a number of rights guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms were violated during his trial. In 2015, Vlad Filat also submitted a complaint to the ECHR, concerning the detention conditions at Penitentiary No. 13 and his illegal arrest. Vlad Filat was sentenced to nine years in jail for abuse of power and passive corruption following a self-denouncing statement made by Ilan Shor, who said that he offered money and presents worth about US$ 250 million to Vlad Filat when this served as Premier in exchange for governmental services. Vlad Filat pleads not guilty.
The participants in the September 17 protest mounted by the Great National Assembly Council adopted a resolution where they stipulated the following demands: abrogation of the law on the change in the electoral system and return to the proportional representation system; de-monopolization of the media market; publication of the second report compiled by Kroll by holding accountable those who are to blame for the large-scale theft and restoration of the embezzled funds, and imposition of individual penalties by the foreign partners on Vlad Plahotniuc and Igor Dodon as the main persons to blame for the democratic deviations in Moldova. When protesting in front of the building of the National Public Broadcaster “Teleradio-Moldova”, they requested the administration of the national TV channel to offer the extraparliamentary opposition an hour of airtime a week. The protesters said that if the demand is not satisfied, they will take again to the streets.
Selection by Alina Marin, IPN
