The Republic of Moldova can achieve its European integration goal without Transnistria. The opinion belongs to Manfred Grund, a German official who visited Moldova recently.

The Berlin statesman says although Moldova can become an EU member state without reintegrating its country, the national authorities should take all the necessary measures to bolster the trust on both banks of Nistru River.

Ion Manole, the head of Promo-LEX think tank told Moldova.ORG that Mr. Grund’s statements were made in a diplomatic way.

“They don’t say anything because they do not provide the necessary details. I think it is the case to know that the correct understanding of our issues by the foreign partners is our obligation. If we want to be helped, we have to know by ourselves what we really want,” Ion Manole told Moldova.ORG.

The expert claimed there isn’t any danger as long as we don’t have any information regarding this scenario.

“One thing is clear: we are not during 1939. No secret agreements will be signed. Everything will be done with the consent of the constitutional authorities from Chisinau,” the political analyst added.

Source: Moldova.org

Diana Mocanu, of the Partnership for Development Center, believes that the uninominal voting system disadvantages the women as the political parties will field those who have more money and more prospects. She stated her opinion in the public debates centering on a legislative initiative aimed at reforming the election system by introducing the uninominal vote, Info-Prim Neo reports.

“Statistics show that in the states with such a voting system, the women are less involved in the government process,” said Diana Mocanu. She also referred to the proposal to divide Moldova into 101 electoral constituencies. “We will be in a situation when we will have too many constituencies. For example Latvia, which has the same territory as Moldova, has only one constituency. Italy has only 26 electoral constituencies even if there are over 500 MPs. If we have such a larger number of constituencies, we will break a record in Europe,” said Diana Mocanu.

Jurist Pavel Postica, of Promo-LEX Association, considers that it will be hard to form the constituencies and the process will imply large costs.

Leonid Litra, expert of IDIS “Viitorul”, said a fear related to this bill is that a large number of micro-projects concerning for instance the water pipes in a settlement will be submitted to Parliament. “I don’t say they will not be important, but they will not be within the legislature’s competence. This will make the sittings banal. On the other hand, the uninominal voting system will favor the inclusion of MPs from regions in the legislative process,” he said.

The head of Radio Free Europe Office in Chisinau Vasile Botnaru said that if this bill is adopted, the plenary sittings should take place not at 10am, but in the afternoon. “The lawmakers who will be from regions, should not be accommodated in Chisinau, but should live in their settlements. Thus, they will see the quality of roads and the situation in districts and will know when the people remain without electric power. It’s not necessary to spend money on the rent of apartments for them to relax in the capital city,” he stated.

The public debates on the reformation of the electoral system were organized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in partnership with the International Republican Institute, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Andrew Young, the representative of NDI, said that this reformation should be a decision taken in concert with civil society and the mass media, not a decision imposed on the population. The legislative initiative was put forward by First Deputy Speaker Vlad Plahotniuc.

Source: Info-prim.md

Russia wants to open a consulate in Tiraspol. According to Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian President’s Special Representative for Transnistria, such a consulate would ease the process of documents issuance for the Russian citizens from Transnistria. The statement was made yesterday during his visit to Tiraspol. Mr. Rogozin said that such an issue has to be discussed with Moldova’s Premier Vlad Filat.

The President of Promo-LEX association of Moldova, Ion Manole previously told Moldova.ORG that he welcomes the idea of opening a Russian consulate in Tiraspol if the necessary requirements are obeyed.

“A consulate is designed to educate their citizens to respect the laws within the host state. When the foreign citizens do not obey the rules, the diplomatic staff is the one who has to deal with the issue, being obliged to defend its citizens,” Ion Manole said.

During his stay in Tiraspol Mr. Rogozin stated that the Russian peacekeeping force in Transnistria has to be rearmed. According to him, the troops will receive new military equipment.

“It’s not about sending tanks or missiles systems to Transnistria. Russia has no right to deploy such things. They can only replace the armored vehicles,” a representative of the General Staff of the Russian Defense Ministry told Izvestia newspaper.

Since 1992, more than 1,500 soldiers have been deployed in Transnistria, the teritorry of Moldova.

Transnistria is a breakaway region of Moldova which went apart after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Most of the inhabitants of the region speak Russian, but there are also towns where Romanian language is spoken. Transnistria is not recognized as an independent state.

Source: Moldova.org