The decree to designate Vlad Filat as a candidate for Prime Minister, issued by President Nicolae Timofti on April 10, is unconstitutional because the Government was dismissed by censure motion on suspicion of acts of corruption and is unable to do its duties. The head of state was to name a Cabinet member as acting Prime Minister who was to serve until the formation of the new Government. Such a decision was passed by the Constitutional Court in the evening of April 22. It deliberated on the matter, following a challenge submitted by the Liberal Party, for almost ten hours, IPN reports.
After the Constitutional Court’s meeting, Liberal MP Valeriu Munteanu, one of the authors of the challenge, said that the Court’s decision is based on the article concerning the rule of law. “Nicolae Timofti had the obligation to name an acting Prime Minister, but he neglected it,” he stated.
The Constitutional Court interpreted a number of articles of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, including Article 101, which says that if the Prime Minister is unable to perform his duties or in the case of his death, Moldova’s President designates another member of the Cabinet as acting Premier, until a new Government is formed.
The challenge was filed by the Liberal Party after Nicolae Timofti designated Vlad Filat for premiership even if the legislative body gave him earlier a vote of no confidence.
