Mevlüt Çavusoglu, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has warmly welcomed the imminent setting up of a parliamentary committee in Moldova to revise Article 78 of the Constitution – concerning the election of the President of the Republic – and said it was “encouraging” that all political forces, including the opposition, have designated representatives to it.
Speaking at the end of a three-day official visit to Chisinau, the President said the present deadlock over the election of the President could not continue, and warned that it was “unthinkable” to hold yet another election with the present constitutional provisions regulating the election of the President. He appealed to the “political responsibility” of all political forces, urging them to engage in constructive dialogue over the Constitution, rather than be guided by “narrow political pre-electoral interests”.
The issue of election of the President was “draining too much political and human energy”, which otherwise could be dedicated to solving the pressing needs of the country, he said. He said he appreciated the presence of the opposition in parliament during his earlier address, and appealed to it to stay on: “People elected their representatives because they trusted in their ability to contribute to the parliamentary debate with their ideas and principles. They cannot do this by being absent.”
The President also offered the help of the Council of Europe, and PACE in particular, in promoting dialogue, mediating if necessary and guaranteeing any future agreement, but he pointed out that the “final decision” on which way to go in order to overcome the deadlock rested with the Moldovan people. “I dare leave the country with some hope that the spirit of dialogue and compromise will prevail over petty political calculations,” he concluded.
Press Release: PACE. Published on 25 March2010 in Strasbourg.
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