On October 20, 2024, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova voted to amend the Constitution to enshrine accession to the European Union as a strategic goal of the country. The republican constitutional referendum was officially validated and the results were confirmed by the Constitutional Court on October 31, IPN reports.
The election was held on the same day as the presidential election and more than 1.5 million voters turned out at the polls, i.e. 50.72% of the total number of those registered on the lists. Of them, 50.35% answered “YES” to the question “Do you support the amendment of the Constitution with a view to Moldova’s accession to the European Union?”.
The revision of the Constitution was initiated at the request of Head of State Maia Sandu and obtained the opinion of the Constitutional Court. Subsequently, the Parliament adopted the decision on the referendum and the original question was reworded to reflect the constitutional nature of the poll.
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With the publication of the results in the Official Gazette, new provisions have been introduced in the Constitution, affirming the European identity of the people of the Republic of Moldova and establishing the integration of the state into the European Union as a strategic direction. In addition, the founding treaties of the EU will take precedence over Moldovan legislation in case of contradictions. Thus, the preamble to the Constitution has been supplemented with two new paragraphs with the following content:
“First Article 140 – Accession to the Treaties establishing the European Union:
- The accession of the Republic of Moldova to the founding treaties of the European Union, as well as to the acts revising them, shall be established by organic law by the Parliament.
- As a result of accession, the provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Union and their other binding legal acts shall take precedence over contrary provisions of national law, subject to the provisions of the Act of Accession”.
This was the fifth republican referendum organized in the Republic of Moldova since the proclamation of independence, and the second on amending the Constitution. It was possible to combine the plebiscite with the presidential elections after the Electoral Code was amended. The authorities sought to ensure sufficient turnout for validation, as a similar consultation in 2010 failed due to low turnout.
Apart from the symbolic and legal importance of the vote, this result has direct effects on Moldova’s legislative path. Parliament is expected to adopt a series of organic laws to regulate EU membership in line with the new constitutional provisions.
Both the authorities and political experts have emphasized that with the referendum vote, the Republic of Moldova officially anchors its European course in the Supreme Law, thus providing a clear constitutional framework for further reforms and rapprochement with the European Union.
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