Moldovan Communists list conditions for cooperation with ruling alliance
The opposition Communist Party in the Republic of Moldova has said it is ready for dialogue with the ruling Alliance for European Integration in order to amend the constitution, but has put forward three pre-conditions, according to Infotag news agency.
The Communist MPs have been boycotting parliament meetings for more than one month, expressing their disagreement with the alliance's decision to amend the constitutional provisions on the mechanism for electing the president at a national referendum. Under the current constitution, the president is elected in parliament by at least 61 lawmakers. Since neither the alliance nor the opposition has enough votes, the current parliament, like the previous one, failed to elect the president and should be dissolved after 16 June 2010.
Moldova's ex-President and Communist leader Vladimir Voronin told a news conference on 11 May that the Communist Party was waiting for a clear answer from the ruling coalition about when parliament will be dissolved, whe! n the early parliamentary election will be held, and how the president will be elected.
"These are our conditions which we are ready to discuss in one package. The alliance's leaders must understand that if they have no clear stance on elections, it is meaningless to enter negotiations. Their hope to preserve this parliament has no future because of the European concept according to which parliament should be dissolved within a reasonable period of time. If the alliance does not go for compromise, then after 16 June, it will become merely a group that usurped state power in Moldova".
Another condition put forward by the Communists is that acting President Mihai Ghimpu dissolves the commission for the assessment and condemnation of the totalitarian communist regime in Moldova. "Any consensus will remain just an utopia if the alliance does not dissolve the commission and does not put an end to its plans of destroying the Communist Party by outlawing its symbols. I! t is up to our party to decide which symbols we like". Voronin said that the Communist Party is willing to change the mechanism for the presidential election in parliament on condition that it will enter into force only after the early parliamentary election.
Voronin said that negotiations should be held outside parliament, between special groups of negotiators to be delegated by parliamentary factions. And it would be strongly advisable to invite a European mediator, most probably from the Council of Europe, to attend the negotiations. "The talks will be really hard because it is difficult to find a solution with four leaders pursuing different interests. If we reach compromise, we will agree on an early parliamentary election without amending the Constitution. If no election date in announced, then after 16 June we will organize peaceful protest rallies," Voronin said. He suggested that the early parliamentary election could be held in October 2010.
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