Moldova’s parliament voted on Thursday (16 May) to hold a referendum in October on European Union membership, a cornerstone of President Maia Sandu’s policies, and to hold presidential elections.
The proposed date of 20 October for the referendum was backed by 56 members of the 101-seat parliament, where Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) has a majority. Members then quickly approved the same date for the presidential election, in which Sandu is seeking re-election.
Twenty-four deputies from opposition parties did not take part in the vote. One member tried to block the chamber for a while.
Opposition parties oppose Sandu’s rapid move towards European integration and say the president is using the referendum to boost his chances of winning the presidential election.
Opponents, who want better relations with Russia, say the referendum should wait until accession talks begin. The EU decided last year to open talks with both Moldova and Ukraine. Moldova is officially a candidate country for EU membership.
Lilian Carp, a leading PAS member, wryly suggested to opposition MPs that they would have raised no objections if the referendum had proposed “integration with the defunct Soviet Union”.
“Moldovan citizens will have their say in the referendum. Integration with the EU means peace and stability”.
Moldova’s constitutional court had previously allowed the two votes to be held simultaneously.
The referendum will ask Moldovans whether they are for or against European integration with a view to joining the 27-member EU.
If the referendum passes and turnout exceeds 33 per cent, the constitution will be amended to declare EU integration “the strategic goal of the Republic of Moldova” and to include a separate section on the process.
The opposition parties are the Socialists, the Communists and the Chance (‘Șansă’) party of fugitive businessman Ilan Shor, who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison in 2014 in connection with the disappearance of $1 billion from Moldovan banks.
After spending time in Israel, Shor now lives in Moscow and announced on Thursday that he had been granted Russian citizenship. Last month, Shor and a group of smaller parties announced the formation of the “Victory” electoral bloc to contest the October elections in Moscow.
