Liberals to propose new Constitution

The Liberal Party's parliamentary faction will soon submit to the legislature for consideration a new Constitution bill that was drafted by the Commission for Constitutional Reform, announced Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu. According to him, the updated version doesn't differ very much from the current Constitution, except for the provision that introduces election of the president by direct popular vote. However, Ghimpu thinks that meanwhile, a president must be elected this fall in Parliament. “It's clear that the election of the head of state by popular vote will not take place immediately. In order to preserve the Eurointegration Alliance and keep a parliamentary majority, we propose that the president is elected by Parliament, with a simple 50% +1 majority. We can't afford today to lose the parliamentary majority”, stated Ghimpu at a news conference on Thursday. Mihai Ghimpu hopes the Alliance parties will endorse the bill. At the same conference, Liberal MP Victor Popa, said that the Bill took four months to draft and involved both national and foreign experts. Mihai Ghimpu's proposal to elect the president in Parliament by a simple majority comes two days after the Constitutional Court passed a resolution saying that the president can only be elected with a supermajority of 61 votes.