Moldova’s parliamentary opposition has initiated a procedure seeking the suspension of President Maia Sandu from office.
A draft resolution signed by 46 MPs was registered with the Parliament’s Secretariat on Tuesday, September 29. The initiative was announced by MP Ion Chicu.
According to Chicu, the opposition accuses the president of violating the principle of separation of powers and assuming powers belonging to other branches of government. He also referred to what he described as the country’s difficult social, economic and political situation.
“We condemn the way the state is being administered by the current government through the violation of the principle of separation of powers and through the abusive appropriation by the President of the Republic of Moldova of the powers of other branches of state authority,” Chicu said.
The initiative has also been backed by Gaik Vartanean of the Alternative parliamentary faction.
“Such an initiative is a natural one in all civilized countries when there are sufficient arguments for it,” Vartanean said.
Valentina Meșină, an MP from the Building Democracy at Home Party, focused on the social situation in Moldova and criticized the authorities over the impact of rising costs ahead of the winter season.
“People have been left desperate, facing the cold on the eve of winter. (…) The people are suffering. It would be good for Maia Sandu to come out honestly and say that the Republic of Moldova has failed as a state, to acknowledge this failure before the people and apologize. But we know she will not do that… That is why we are here to demand her resignation,” Meșină said.
Alexandru Berlinschi of Our Party invoked the principle of equality before the law and accused the country’s leadership of failing to uphold it.
“The law must be equal for everyone. Unfortunately, it is precisely the country’s highest officials who are not respecting this principle,” Berlinschi said.
President Maia Sandu had previously described the opposition’s initiative to suspend her as “just another example of actions by those working in Moscow’s interests.” That characterization is a political claim by the president and has been rejected by opposition figures.
Under Article 89 of Moldova’s Constitution, a motion to suspend the president may be initiated by at least one-third of all MPs. With Parliament consisting of 101 members, this means at least 34 signatures are required to initiate the procedure. The president must then be informed and has the right to provide Parliament with explanations concerning the allegations.
Actual suspension requires the support of two-thirds of all elected MPs, or at least 67 votes. If Parliament approves the suspension, a national referendum on the president’s dismissal must be organized within 30 days.
The 46 signatures announced by the opposition therefore meet the constitutional threshold required to initiate the procedure, but they are below the 67 votes required for Parliament itself to approve a suspension.
The initiative now moves to the parliamentary process, where the allegations and the president’s response can be considered before any vote on suspension.