Many deputies noted in their comments that “most likely” this was the last session: in August it can still be convened for extraordinary sessions, and in September return to ordinary ones – within the framework of the fall-winter session, but with limited powers. For a complete dissolution of parliament, a corresponding presidential decree must be signed. Deputies will have to surrender their parliamentary ID cards, and non-resident deputies will have to vacate their office apartments. According to the law, deputies have the right to return to their previous place of work.
Summarizing the results of the work, parliamentary speaker Igor Grosu, chairman of the ruling PAS party, said that in four years “we have managed to turn problems into opportunities”.
“An opportunity for Moldova to become a candidate country for EU accession in a very short period of time. This is your merit, the merit of all the officials and all the citizens who gave their vote in the referendum, and thanks to them we have introduced in the Constitution that Moldova will become irrevocably a member state of the European Union,” Grosu addressed the deputies who remained in the plenary hall.
According to him, “there were other good things: we got rid of energy dependence – and thank God!”.
“We took care of people: families, youth, farmers, medics, officials, teachers, policemen. Is there anyone I’m forgetting? The animals? The animals too! About border guards, about veterans, about pensioners, about children, students – about people. And the mayors. Why, are they not people?”, – said the Speaker of Parliament.
PCRM leader and member of the opposition faction of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists Vladimir Voronin gave the parliamentary majority “the lowest grade for the work done”.
“The PAS party is falsely called the party of action and solidarity, they have shown neither action nor solidarity. Of the 800 initiatives we have presented over these four years, they have passed only four,” he said. And the chairman of the BCS faction and vice chairman of the parliament, Vlad Batryncha, promised to set up in the next parliament “a special commission to investigate the criminal activities of the PAS party during the four years of its rule.”
The last plenary session of the spring-summer session ended on a musical note – with the National Anthem of the Republic of Moldova and the European Union anthem performed by the Border Police Orchestra.
It should be reminded that during the mandate, the BCS, which entered the parliament with 32 elected deputies, lost 6 colleagues. Vasile Bolia, Oleksandr Sukhodolski, Iryna Lozovan and Oleksandr Nesterovskiy were disaffiliated from the faction, but remained in the parliament. Lozovan and Nesterovskiy are still listed on the parliament website, although they were sentenced in absentia on corruption charges. Veaceslav Nigai left the faction, but not the parliament. He was poached by the Respect Moldova Movement, formerly led by former Democrat and Communist deputy Eugen Niciforciuc, and now by Marian Lupu. Gaik Vartanian joined the extra-parliamentary MAN of Mayor Ion Ceban, but also preferred to remain a deputy.
PAS was left without two votes. Victoria Cazacu announced that she joined Renato Usatii’s Our Party. Olesia Stamate left the faction after the scandal with the amnesty of life prisoners. According to her, she received a number of political proposals, but has not made any decision yet.
The current parliament was elected in snap elections on July 11, 2021, after the dissolution of the previous parliament on April 28, 2021, by a decree of President Maia Sandu. It was preceded by several unsuccessful attempts to appoint a government, including the cabinet of Natalia Gavrilica, which even the PAS faction did not vote for. This was the formal basis for holding early elections.
New, regular elections will be held on September 28 this year. The beginning of the election period is July 14. And from July 20 to August 19 inclusive – submission of documents for registration of candidates for the position of deputy. Until August 28, their lists should be published.
