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Referendum initiated by Maia Sandu generates debates between government and extraparliamentary opposition


https://www.ipn.md/index.php/en/referendum-initiated-by-maia-sandu-generates-debates-between-government-and-7965_1102947.html

It is not clear who will take responsibility for the eventual failure of the referendum, if it is held simultaneously with the presidential election, said the co-chairman of the League of Cities and Communes (LOC) Alexandru Bujorean. According to him, his party supports the organization of the plebiscite, but warns the government that the period chosen for this exercise is inopportune. For her part, PAS MP Ina Coșeru said that the ruling party supports the initiative of President Maia Sandu and the referendum on joining the EU will confirm the will of the people.

LOC co-chairman Alexandru Bujorean noted that the components of the political bloc LOC-PPDA-Party of Change-CUB consider that the people should choose the external development course of the country. At the same time, the politician wonders why this referendum is linked to the presidential election of this autumn and whether it is not risky to organize the two electoral exercises on the same day.

“I and my colleagues from the recently launched political bloc are representatives of pro-European parties and we will support this referendum. But we have many questions as to the period when this referendum is organized, more precisely on the same day as the presidential election. It’s not clear why we didn’t hold this referendum before the presidential election. For example, why didn’t it take place during the local elections? Why is this referendum not organized mutinously with the parliamentary elections because there we also need pro-European electorate? We are not against the referendum, but we understand that there are risks and it’s not clear who will bear responsibility for the failure of this referendum, if it fails. We must not forget that this referendum mobilizes not only the pro-European electorate, but also the pro-Russian electorate, who will not only vote for a pro-Russian candidate, but will also choose the external course of the country,” Alexandru Bujorean stated in the talk show “Freedom Territory”.

MP of the ruling party PAS Ina Coșeru said that a referendum on the country’s accession to the European Union will objectively reflect the will of the people to become part of the European family.

“President Maia Sandu announced that the European integration is the goal of the Republic of Moldova. The population of the Republic of Moldova should have been called to such a referendum a long time ago in order to support the European integration process. Last year, in December, the European Council adopted a historic decision on the opening of accession negotiations and this referendum must confirm the will of the people. The objective to join the EU by 2030 set by President Maia Sandu will become the objective of the whole country, an objective supported in this referendum,” stated the MP.

On January 30, the MPs of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists asked the Constitutional Court to establish the constitutionality of the law that allows holding a national referendum concurrently with the parliamentary and presidential elections.