Moldovan parliament speaker says top court gives clear signal to head of state that initiatives cannot surpass constitutional framework

Chisinau, 27 July /MOLDPRES/ - “The Constitutional Court (CC) put the things on their legal path and gave a clear-cut signal to President Dodon that the initiatives cannot surpass the constitutional framework,” Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu  said following the issuance of the Court’s ruling, the parliament’s communication and public relations department has reported.

Andrian Candu noted that, after President Igor Dodon had launched the initiative, he described the action as unconstitutional and groundless. According to Candu, the steps by which one tries to launch electoral pre-campaigns on public money must be and will be blocked.    

On 27 July 2017, the Constitutional Court pronounced the decision on the constitutional control of a Decree by Moldova’s President from 28 March 2017 on holding a consultative republican referendum on issues of national interest.  

Among other things, the Court established, as principle, that any change which regards the powers of the President are to produce effects only for the mandate of his/her successor and cannot affect the powers of the incumbent President. Also, the Court established that, within a referendum, questions of different character cannot be put, even if these questions are contained in different ballot papers.  

CC stressed that it is contrary to the spirit and letter of the Constitution that the President, under the “coverage’ of the syntagm “issues of national interest”, can initiate a referendum which implies the amendment of the Constitution or issues dealing with the scientific assessment of the academic environment.   

It is worth mentioning that a group of lawmakers of the parliamentary faction of the Liberal Party submitted a notification to this effect to the Constitutional Court.