A united coalition of opposition parliamentary parties spoke at a briefing this morning, announcing that they are putting forward an initiative to remove Maia Sandu from the office of president.
The document has already been signed by 46 MPs. The draft resolution was prepared by MP Ion Chicu.
“Today we appear before you with a statement on the initiative of the parliamentary opposition concerning holding the President of the Republic of Moldova, Mrs. Maia Sandu, to political, constitutional, and legal accountability. We, the representatives of the plenipotentiary representatives of the people of the Republic of Moldova, deputies of parliament, considering the rule of law, civil peace, democracy, human dignity, human rights and freedoms, the free development of the human personality, justice, and political pluralism as the highest values of this state, note a significant deterioration of the overall situation in the country in social, economic, and political terms, including compared to the situation at the time of recognizing the character of a captured state of the Republic of Moldova by Parliament Resolution No. 39 of June 8, 2019,” Chicu stated.
He also added: “We condemn the manner of governing the state by the current authorities through violation of the principle of separation of powers in the state and through the abusive appropriation of [powers] by the President of the Republic of Moldova.”
“The Constitution Is Something Everyone Must Adhere To”
PCRM leader Diana Caraman supported the initiative:
“The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova supports the initiative to remove Maia Sandu from the office of President of the Republic of Moldova. We consider it absolutely necessary to understand that, regardless of which party we belong to, regardless of our ideologies, the Constitution is something everyone must adhere to. The office of president means not only the privileges that Maia Sandu gladly enjoys, and governance, and positions, and everything else, but also absolute responsibility.”
Caraman reminded:
“In 2020, Maia Sandu said that the president had all the powers to make people’s lives better. Today she has the same powers. And, as I said earlier, it was she who drew up the lists of deputies, it is she who conducts negotiations with prime ministers that take place in the Republic of Moldova.” According to her, Maia Sandu bears personal responsibility for what is happening in the Republic of Moldova, personal responsibility for the destruction of the Constitution.
PSRM MP Pavel Voicu, speaking at the briefing, stated:
“Citizens believe that the country’s president should be the guarantor of compliance with the Constitution and legislation, the guarantor of sovereignty, neutrality, and independence of the Republic of Moldova, and not violate them every time it serves the interests of one party.”
According to Article 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, a proposal to remove the president may be initiated by at least one-third of the deputies. For its approval, two-thirds of parliament’s votes are required. If the proposal is approved, a referendum on removing the president from office is held within 30 days.
Thus, the first stage for the united parliamentary opposition will be gathering the required number of deputies’ signatures.
Reaction of the Presidential Administration
After people were frightened with war during the election campaign, the presidential administration stated that Sandu was elected by more than 930,000 citizens for the sake of “peace and security.”
“President Maia Sandu will continue to fulfill the mandate entrusted to her by citizens, including to protect the constitutional order, democracy, and the freedom of everyone,” reads the presidential administration’s reaction to the opposition’s initiative to remove the head of state from office.
