The European People’s Party (EPP) denounces the change in the electoral system in the Republic of Moldova following today’s adoption in parliament, and strongly condemns the parliament’s disregard for the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

“It is a disgrace that the majority of the Moldovan parliament chose today for its citizens authoritarianism over democracy, corruption over transparency, and chaos over rule of law. It is really regretful that 74 members of the parliament chose to strengthen the autocracy of the Democratic Party and the Socialists with its leader Plahotniuc instead of defending the interests of its people, “said EPP President Joseph Daul.

“The Venice Commission had a clear recommendation not to change to a new electoral system. As usual, the Democratic Party has largely ignored the Venice Commission’s recommendations and the European Union’s concerns over the change of the electoral system, and has instead mimicked changes to the new electoral law. Moreover, the biggest concerns of the new Moldovan electoral law have not been addressed and the risks it entails have not been omitted.

Additionally, the new electoral law has been adopted in a hasty and opaque manner without involving neither the opposition nor the full range of the civil society. The concerns regarding party financing, the influence of business over politicians, the delimitation of constituencies, the fair representation of minorities and the diaspora, as well as the high threshold are just a few of the misgivings that have not been addressed.

Given the grave situation and the complete denial of the Democratic Party and the Socialists towards the Venice Commission’s recommendations and EU’s demands, EPP calls on the European Commission to stop any funding and re-evaluate the EU-Moldova Association Agreement ” EPP President Daul.