Fact-finding Mission Moldova
Mon 31 May 2010.jpg)
On 27-28 May a fact-finding mission took place in Moldova organised by the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity and the Party of European Socialists (PES). The delegation was co-chaired by Marianne Mikko, former Member of the European Parliament and former co-chair of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, and Peter Schieder, chair of the PES EEN WG and former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The occasion for this mission was the political stalemate in the Moldovan parliament to elect a new president. After two parliamentary elections in 2009 the Moldovan parliament did not succeed to find the necessary majority, 61 out of 101 votes, to choose a new president. This means the country has lacked a fully equipped head of state for a year now.
Moldova is divided between the Communist Party and the Alliance for European Integration. Tensions between both sides make it impossible to cooperate. One of the main tasks of the delegation was to research the current political landscape. After 16 June 2010 the parliament can formally be disbanded and new elections will probably follow soon in fall. In order to prevent the current problems from happening again the political parties in Moldova are researching a constitutional revision of article 78 on the procedure of Presidential elections, to make them easier. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe advised parliamentary elections to take place as soon as possible and let the new parliament reform the constitution.
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