CHIŞINĂU (Imedia) - Leaders of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) have been delaying the release of a common position on constitutional reform in the country. After a meeting with representatives from the Venice Commission on Friday, however, they promised to present a viewpoint at the beginning of March.

Venice Commission (VC) President Gianni Buquicchio said that his institution does not plan to get involved in Chisinau's domestic politics.

„We have made a number of recommendations that need to be discussed within a large dialogue and, after consensus between every political force, Chisinau needs to make a decision that is in the country's national interest. /.../ Political forces need to think about the proposed solutions. Time requires that we rush a bit, but I am optimistic, because political forces in Moldova are capable of taking responsibilities to the state's benefit," Mr. Buquicchio added.

He stressed that he does not want to get „politically involved," which is why he will not offer details about the talks he has had with the AEI and the Communist opposition in order „not to compromise the negotiations process." Mr. Buquicchio did suggest, however, that parties hold talks to identify a legal solution to change the Constitution.

Interim President and Speaker Mihai Ghimpu, who is also Liberal Party (LP) head, said after his meeting with the VC representatives that the Commission's position „is for constitutional change to occur in Parliament, with the vote of two-thirds of M.P.s. But I don't look for support in Parliament because I won't find it there. My position is that there is another democratic path - a referendum during which a simple majority can vote."

Mr. Ghimpu added that amending the Constitution in Parliament could take too much time, because the modification project would have to be approved by the Constitutional Court first - which can take up to six months - and only then would it move to the legislature. A referendum can, however, be organized until June 16, after which Parliament would be dismissed, the interim head of state explained.

Democratic Party (DP) head Marian Lupu said that „we are talking about amending Article 78 in the Constitution [Imedia: which talks about the president's election] in Parliament or about returning to the direct election of the head of state by the entire society."

Prime Minister Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said that the AEI's final position would be expressed after each party finishes internal talks about the Constitution. „We will present the Alliance's consolidated position to administer the situation, which will be a decision in favor of the Moldovan people," Mr. Filat added.

Moldova Noastra [Our Moldova] Alliance (MNA) head Serafim Urechean says that „we still need to parse a few things out in order to make a responsible decision."

In turn, Party of Communists (PC) leader Vladimir Voronin said in an official statement that „no revision of the Constitution is possible without a political dialogue, because only Parliament, with the vote of two thirds of the number of elected M.P.s can adopt a constitutional law, even if it goes through a referendum."

Commentary:

Igor Munteanu: We need to fulfill very many obligations toward the Council of Europe (CE), and adopting a new Constitution is part of this strategy

Igor Munteanu, a political analyst and executive director of the Viitorul Institute for Development and Social Initiatives, says that the VC's purpose is to help „instead of distort political will.

This will is based on the need to change several articles in the Constitution, not only the one on the presidential election."

„I don't think the VC has any veto power over decisions that have been justified and accepted by political factors.

There is a risk, because we'd have to provide additional explanations to the Council of Europe, but I think that returning a number of important provisions that are not in the current Constitution would compensate and make up for this deficit of communication registered at the moment between the commission for constitutional reform and the VC," Mr. Munteanu adds.

He stresses that if Chisinau ignores the VC's recommendations, Moldova's image abroad will not suffer.

„The Venice Commission is an organization that specializes in offering consulting advice.

It is not meant to create blockages or cast judgment. We need to fulfill very many obligations toward the Council of Europe, and adopting a new Constitution is part of this strategy," Mr. Munteanu concludes.

Octavian Ticu: At this point, we need to do everything we can to avoid early elections

Octavian Ticu, a political scientist, says that the VC's recommendations are simply suggestions.

„At this point, we need to do everything we can to avoid early elections. New elections will not change much, but will only make things worse. We need to mobilize every resource to not hold elections.

I don't think Moldova's image abroad will suffer if we manage to do this.

On the contrary, we will show that we have internal resources to manage the current political situation and to maintain relative consensus in the governing coalition," Mr. Ticu notes.

He believes that the uncertain situation in the country was primarily caused by the legislature's failure to elect Marian Lupu President.

„Marian Lupu is probably also being pressured because Mihai Ghimpu was elected Speaker, Vlad Filat was elected Prime Minister, and he is simply a party leader. Moreover, there are some speculations from the Communists that say that the DP's coalition partners do not actually want to elect Mr. Lupu for President, which is why he should ally himself with the Communists.

All of these speculations need to end once Mr. Lupu is elected head of state. But if authorities do end up changing the Constitution, they need a complex approach to this process instead of changing a single article," Mr. Ticu concludes.

Gheorghe Cojocaru: The VC's recommendations are not obligatory, but it will be extremely complicated to overlook them

Gheorghe Cojocaru, a political analyst, told Radio Free Europe that the VC's recommendations "are not obligatory, but it will be extremely complicated to overlook them."

„The VC is a well-known international legal authority, and it has an important word to say to European and international organizations.

The way in which a state reacts to its recommendations says a lot about their democratic commitments and about the way in which the state, Moldova in this case, wants to be a European state driven by the rule of law.

From this perspective, the arguments made by political leaders in Chisinau during talks with the VC need to be justified, legal, and democratic," Mr. Cojocaru stresses.

"If Chisinau does not do this, it could fall victim to another wave of criticism from the Communist opposition and ties with its Western partners could cool. In that case, the Alliance will have to fend for itself, which could be discouraging given the conditions of the economic crisis.

Most importantly, however, the solutions that authorities will ultimately reach should not throw society back and make Moldova's path toward European integration smoother," Mr. Cojocaru concludes.

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Gianni Buquicchio said during a conversation with journalists on February 26 that the VC only makes recommendations and cannot pressure Chisinau. „The Council of Europe, via its Parliamentary Assembly, can engage in political pressure," Mr. Buquicchio explained.   

Two weeks ago, during a documentation visit to Chisinau, the VC head said that "the Moldovan Constitution needs some adjustments. But these can wait, because the main priority is to get out of the crisis, and in order to do this we need to work on the manner of electing the President."

On December 1, 2009, interim President Mihai Ghimpu formed a commission for constitutional reform, which includes politicians, legal experts, and civil society representatives.

„The commission was formed in order to overcome the constitutional crisis, to consolidate Moldova's statehood, to improve the efficiency of the governing process and of public institutions, as well as to ensure the expression of the general will of the people in the Constitution," the decree forming this institution says.

On January 11, the commission said it wanted a new Constitution, and Mr. Ghimpu said that a new document would allow Chisinau to avoid early legislative elections.