According to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, the Permanent Bureau is composed ex officio of Igor Grosu, President of the Parliament, and the Vice-Presidents of the Legislature – Doina Gherman (PAS) and Vlad Batrincea (PSRM).
PAS appointed seven members to the Permanent Bureau. All other parliamentary factions appointed only one deputy each. According to Promo-LEX, PSRM was underrepresented in the Permanent Bureau, despite having 17 mandates.
“The Permanent Bureau of the Parliament was formed with 15 members, but the distribution of seats does not fully reflect the principle of proportionality stipulated by the regulation – the PSRM party was underrepresented, given the number of mandates it holds,” the association said in its report.
Besides, the experts note that only 59 MPs voted in favor of approving the composition of the Standing Bureau, which is much less than the 72 votes for the creation of permanent commissions. This indicates that the proposed composition of the Bureau did not receive the same level of support and that the opposition’s demands were only partially taken into account. In this context, Promo-LEX emphasizes the importance of observing the principles of fair representation, transparency and balance between the majority and the opposition when forming the governing bodies of the Parliament.
The commissions also raised questions about the observance of procedures. Twelve standing commissions, including a new commission for European integration, were created at the parliamentary formation session. The parliamentary majority headed seven commissions, while the opposition headed five.
“At the same time, the Permanent Bureau rejected the PCRM faction’s request to include MP Diana Caraman in the Legal Commission for Appointments and Immunity, giving her seat to independent MP Vasile Tarlev. This decision contradicts the established practice according to which factions independently appoint their representatives to parliamentary commissions, which raised concerns about the observance of the principles of proportional representation and transparency of procedures,” Promo-LEX said.
Thus, Promo-LEX emphasizes the importance of observing the principles of fair representation, transparency and balance between the majority and the opposition when forming the governing bodies of the Parliament.
The Association promised that monitoring the activity of the Parliament will be one of its priority tasks. The focus will be on assessing the transparency of the legislative process, the observance of democratic procedures and how policies of public interest are promoted and adopted. The monitoring is supported by Sweden as part of the Democracy in Action: Strengthening Electoral Integrity, Political Accountability and Civic Participation project, which is supported by Sweden, the UK Government and the European Union.
It should be recalled that six parliamentary factions were formed in the 12th Parliament: PAS (55 deputies), PSRM (17 deputies), PCRM (8 deputies), Alternativa (8 deputies), Our Party (6 deputies) and Democrația Acasă (6 deputies). In addition, one deputy is not a member of any of the six parliamentary factions and is listed as independent.
On Friday, the Parliament took note of the resignation of some MPs of the majority faction. Five MPs gave up their mandate after becoming members of Alexandru Munteanu’s cabinet. Thus, Vladimir Bolea will continue to work as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, and Mihail Popşoi as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Dan Perciun will become Minister of Education and Research, while Liudmila Katlabuga will become Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry. Also, Emil Ceban gave up his mandate as an MP after his appointment as Minister of Health. In addition, Dorin Recean and Artur Mizha submitted their resignations after previously announcing their retirement from politics. And Nicolae Popescu resigned after being appointed special emissary of the Moldovan president for European affairs and strategic partnerships. The vacant mandates will be transferred to the following candidates from the PAS electoral list.
