The Republic of Moldova should take into account the Venice Commission’s recommendations concerning the draft law to change the electoral system because this institution of the Council of Europe sets the limits in accordance with the democratic standards, vice director of the Institute of Legal and Political Research of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova Victor Juc stated in the program “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel, IPN reports.

According to Victor Juc, if the Republic of Moldova, in its transition to democracy, wants to comply with these democratic standards, it should take the recommendations into consideration. “The lawmakers cannot ignore the recommendations, especially because these include generally acceptable recommendations. They should find ways to improve the content of the draft law,” he stated.

Victor Juc noted the lawmakers left many gaps and vulnerabilities in the bill in order to modify the text after the Venice Commission provides its recommendations because they haven’t found a solution yet. “If they want the bill to be adopted, they should make effort for this to be passed in the spring-summer session of Parliament,” he said.

During its plenary session on June 16, the Venice Commission adopted opinions that critically assess the draft law for Moldova’s electoral system for the election of Parliament and a proposal to expand presidential powers. Following extensive public consultations with all relevant stakeholders, the joint opinion concluded that the proposed reform cannot be considered as having been adopted by broad consensus. It raises “significant concerns” including the risk that constituency members of parliament would be vulnerable to being influenced by business interests. Furthermore, according to the joint opinion, “the responsibility vested with the Central Election Commission to establish single-mandate constituencies for the majoritarian component is based on vague criteria that pose a risk of political influence.