The Constitutional Court’s decision represents defiance of the people and their freedom to state their opinion on subjects of national interests. In practical terms, the Court reduced the role of the people to simple voters who are unable to intervene and to pronounce in plebiscites in periods between elections. This is now President Igor Dodon commented on the July 27 decision of the Constitutional Court whereby the decree to hold the consultative referendum was declared unconstitutional, IPN reports.
“It now became evident: the parliamentary alliance and the unionist parties of the right are afraid of the pro-Moldova referendum initiated by the President. And they decided to block my actions, showing again their weakness and fear,” the President wrote on his Facebook page.
According to him, the Constitutional Court made use of different juridical stratagems to annul the referendum, probably at the suggestion of the government and also because the members of the CC are Romanian citizens who are panicked by the social effects of the referendum. “By today’s decision, the Constitutional Curt showed once again that it is profoundly politicized, biased and evidently under ideological influences. The oath taken to obtain the second nationality is felt in each decision of the Court members,” said President Dodon.
He noted that by a decree of Moldova’s President in 1999, a consultative referendum was held without the Parliament’s intervention and this was validated by the Constitutional Court. “Despite the anti-democratic and defying decision of the Constitutional Court, I note that we will not stop in our intention to consult the people on issues of national importance. We will formulate other initiatives in this regard,” said the President.
According to Igor Dodon, the National Council of the Party of Socialists will be convened on July 28 to take a decision in this regard. Protests could be mounted on September 24 in support of the President’s initiative.
Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu also commented on the Court’s decision. “The Constitutional Court today rejected the referendum wanted by President Igor Dodon. From the very beginning, I and the Prime Minister, the colleagues from the PDM pronounced on the unconstitutionality and unreasonableness of the President’s approach. The Constitutional Court decided things as they should be and gave a clear signal that the President’s initiatives should be within the constitutional framework,” stated the Speaker.
On July 27, the Constitutional Court ruled that President Igor Dodon’s decree to hold a national consultative referendum is unconstitutional. Following a challenge filed by the Liberal Party, the Court held that the questions formulated for the plebiscite are outside the President’s area of competence and, consequently, cannot be the subjects of a referendum initiated by the Head of State. It noted it is against the spirit of the Constitution for the President, hiding under the phrase “problems of national interest, to initiate a referendum that entails the amendment of the Constitution or covers issues that are within the remit of the academic community.
