The
\nfierce political battle between the Republic of Moldova’s reformist and
\npro-European president Maia Sandu and the pro-Russian parliamentary majority is
\nbecoming fiercer still and is now being waged on constitutional ground, from
\nwhich in theory it should stay away from. The Socialists and their allies in \u015eor
\nParty on Friday passed a declaration on the usurpation of power by the Constitutional
\nCourt and a vote of no-confidence in the Court’s three judges. The parliamentary
\nmajority opposed to Maia Sandu views the Court’s recent ruling that all conditions
\nare met to dissolve Parliament as dictatorial and undemocratic. Moreover,
\nit abolished a Parliament’s decision to elect Domnica Manole as the current
\npresident of the Court. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nmove by the pro-Russian parties comes after Maia Sandu was given the green
\nlight by the Constitutional Court to sign the decree to dissolve Parliament after
\nseveral failed attempts to form a government. The stakes of the alliance that has
\nformed around the former president Igor Dodon are clear, namely to prevent
\nearly elections, which Sandu wants. Through its vote on Friday, however, this
\nalliance stepped over the red line of respecting the Constitution. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nmove sparked an outcry from the European Union and the United States. The EU
\nforeign policy chief Josep Borell recalled that the Republic of Moldova pledged
\nto respect the independence of the Constitutional Court as part of its association
\nagreement with the European Union. He described Friday’s vote as a blatant
\nattack on the country’s constitutional order and an attempt to undermine the rule
\nof law. US ambassador to Moldova Dereck Hogan says the vote of the
\nparliamentary majority shows lack of respect for the separation of powers. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania’s
\nreaction was just as firm. Its foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu said in a
\nstatement that the declaration adopted by the Moldovan Parliament shows
\ncontempt for the independence of the Constitutional Court and called for any
\ndecisions or initiatives to question the rule of law to be avoided. The Romanian
\nminister also noted the position of the Venice Commission, which clearly
\nunderlines that any attack on the Constitutional Court and failure to comply
\nwith its rulings, including in this case, runs counter to the rule of law. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A
\nsmall landlocked country that neighbours Romania and Ukraine and has a majority
\nRomanian-speaking population, the Republic of Moldova wants to join the
\nEuropean Union, but concerns about corruption and democracy worsened relations
\nwith the bloc, Reuters notes. Maia Sandu seeks to bridge these differences, but
\nshe cannot do so without a government and a majority she can work with. (CM)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Move by pro-Russian majority in Moldova to alter membership of Constitutional Court comes under criticism from countrys western partners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":82140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[29130],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-88755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-moldova"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n