Midweek Update - Constitutional Crisis

April 23 - 25

Welcome to our first Midweek Update! These will be very few and far between at Moldova Matters but the volume of news in the last 3 days has been so great that waiting for a Weekly Roundup until Friday would mean that the roundup would be unreasonably long. So, in this Midweek Update, we will look at the deepening Constitutional Crisis and the events that have unfolded over the weekend. 

The Political Crisis is now a full Blown Constitutional Crisis

In last friday’s Weekly Roundup we asked “Political Crisis - Denouement or Intermission?” Mere hours after the Weekly Roundup hit your inboxes we skipped intermission, canceled the denouement and jumped two feet first into a Constitutional Crisis. Mr. Dodon’s Socialist Party (PSRM) and the Shor Party were expected to make a symbolic vote to demand the resignation of 3 Judges of the Constitutional Court. Since Parliament has no right to recall judges, who serve fixed 6 year terms, this was seen as an act of “disapproval” and essentially symbolic. At the beginning of the Parliamentary Session the opposition parties PAS and DA chose to boycott the proceedings in order to protest this “farce.”

Following this, the PSRM and their Shor party allies suddenly rolled out a legislative blitzkrieg whereby they introduced and passed legislation immediately. This means they skipped elements of normal order required by law including consultations with the Government, impact analysis, consultations with Civil Society and Stakeholders, etc. Depending on the type of law there are different processes and stakeholders but in all cases they take time. In this case, they passed a flurry of laws in hours. Here is a short roundup from least consequential to what many have called an “attempt to usurp power”:

1. Subsidizing household electricity for Moldovans during April and May. 

2. Lowering VAT tax rates for Hotels and Restaurants from 12% to 6% for the duration of the State of Emergency (expiring in June) and the State of Health Emergency (indefinite, continuous since last June)

3. Empowering the Interim Government to sign international treaties and generally operate as a fully empowered Government. 

4. Repealing the “Law on the Billion” whereby the state bailed out the banks from which the 1 Billion USD was stolen in 2014. 

5. Revocation of the Appointment of Judge Dominica Manole to the Constitutional Court.

6. Appointment of a new Judge to the Constitutional Court

While this whole strange explosion of legislation is important, I only itemize it here in order to show the wide ranging actions of Parliament on Friday. We will focus entirely on Numbers 5 and 6 whereby the Socialists and Shor parties attempted to take control of the Constitutional Court. This is blatantly unconstitutional as the judges on the court are specifically exempt from such abuses by the other branches of government. There is some confusion as to how the Socialists thought they could do this, but what is absolutely clear is that the text of the Constitution was violated. Following the appointment of the new Socialist-friendly judge he was sworn in immediately on the floor of Parliament. 

The Anatomy of a Crisis

So now we have two justices of the Constitutional Court, backed by different factions, each claiming a legitimate right to one seat. The Socialists now have a pretext to ignore the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the State of Emergency if they don’t like it, and to try to govern the country from a State of Emergency. It is unclear what their real intentions are, but this is a massive escalation in this crisis from a political fight within the rules (barely) to a full blown Constitutional Crisis whereby the legislature is refusing the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court. 

The President Reacts

President Sandu swiftly reacted by calling a meeting of the Supreme Security Council to discuss this crisis. After this meeting, the President called on support from the National Amy and Law Enforcement to respect the Constitution and not to follow illegal orders. She also told the people to prepare to mobilize to mass street protests in the case that the Socialists do not back down or choose to make further moves against constitutional order. 

International Reaction was Swift

Immediately following the results of the Parliamentary session, the US Ambassador and EU Ambassador each came out with a statement calling the actions of the Socialists an “Attack on the Constitution.” This was followed by European Union High Representative Josep Borrell calling it “a gross attack on the country's constitutional order and an attempt to undermine the rule of law.” The Romanian Embassy Expressed Concerns, and the Dutch Embassy called out a “clear violation of the constitution.” 95 Moldovan NGOs joined in a united voice from Civil Society to condemn an “attempt to usurp power” by the Socialists. 

Maybe most shockingly, the Venice Commission, the EU’s highest body on Constitutional Law , announced that “Parliament must reverse it’s unconstitutional decisions.” It is extremely rare for the Venice Commission to react swiftly in this manner and highlights the alarm throughout European and Western Governments and Institutions at these escalations. 

The Russian Embassy simply said it is “monitoring the situation.” 

The Constitutional Court Responds

The Constitutional Court suspended the decisions of Parliament to remove their justice and add another. The PAS Party has moved further and asked the Constitutional Court to suspend Parliament’s ability to legislate while this crisis plays out. 

Where was Mr. Dodon in all of this?

Mr. Dodon flew on an urgent Mission to Moscow while all of this was unfolding. When he returned, later in the day, it was with 142,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, and 2 members of the Russian Duma. We will discuss this process and the controversies around it more in the Weekly Update. But one thing is clear, as his Socialist Party was taking these actions in Parliament, Mr. Dodon has shown very clearly that he has the favor of the Russian Federation, and at least their tacit backing in this crisis. 

What is Next?

President Sandu and others have called on the General Prosecutor to investigate this matter as an attempt to usurp power and undermine the constitution. It is unclear how this could move forward but one thing is clear, the Rubicon has been crossed in many senses. The President and her allies are speaking of legal consequences for those who are attempting to seize power. Meanwhile, the Socialists are trying to pack the courts and maintain power by thwarting elections at all costs. The strong reaction of international partners, and the seeming confusion from the Socialists as to what happens next, may indicate that there is room to come back from the ledge. Mr. Dodon’s moves in the past months have rarely signaled a chess player thinking more than a single move ahead, and it is entirely possible they did not plan either for the swift condemnation or what their next move will be. 

We’ll continue with this story, as well as our full coverage of Politics and Economics in Friday’s Weekly Roundup.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support our work at Moldova Matters and benefit from some great premium content! For just $5 / mo, the price of a nice coffee, you can support the work that goes into Moldova Matters and help us expand into even more quality content. Follow this link for details.