The government party has continued lobbying EU institutions about the mixed voting system even after passing the bill on July 20, 2017, political scientist Dionis Cenusa writes in an op-ed piece for IPN.
According to the expert, the Democratic Party is using lobbyists to convince decision-makers in Brussels that the adoption of the mixed voting system took into consideration all the recommendations of the Venice Commission and that it enjoys large popular support.
Cenusa explains that the key targets of this lobby are the European Commission and the European External Action Service. These institutions will soon decide whether the “political pre-conditions” have been met or not and if the 100 million euro macro-financial assistance is possible or not.
According to him, the Democrats’ goal is bigger than just obtaining some funding they don’t have to pay back. Obtaining EU financing would be seen as legitimizing the government and its decision to change the electoral system.
He concludes that although it might be an error, the possibility of the EU being convinced by the Democrats’ arguments regarding the legitimacy, legality and safety of the mixed voting system cannot be ruled out.
Dionis Cenusa thinks that mobilizing protesters, responding to the Democrats’ arguments with legal counter-arguments instead of public populist declarations and active communication with the European institutions are key steps in informing the EU about the true character of the mixed system and delaying the macro-financial assistance for not fulfilling the “political pre-conditions”.
