Moldova under control of oligarchic groups – Ion Sturza

Candidate for Moldovan prime minister’s post Ion Sturza has started negotiating with parliamentary factions.

A group of MPs from the European People’s Party of Moldova announced its readiness to meet with Sturza. The Liberal Party of Moldova and the Communist Party have not yet expressed their attitudes towards the candidature.

Ion Sturza says he expects the parliament will support him. “If we fail to withdraw Moldova from control of the oligarchic and corrupted groups, the number of people who are not sure of their future in the country and are willing to emigrate or support Moldova’s joining Romania will increase significantly,” Sturza stressed.

A new political formation, the Social Democratic Platform “For Moldova” that unites parliamentarians from the Democratic Party, the Socialist Party and a group of MPs who earlier left the Communist Party faction has announced it will not meet with Sturza and refused to support the government he is to form.

They also refused to say who will be their candidate for prime minister’s post. However, analysts say the parliamentary majority is being formed in order to appoint Vladimir Plahotniuc (a Moldovan politician, businessman, first deputy chair of the parliament) as prime minister.

According to RealitateaTV, in the coming days, the Moldovan Constitutional Court is to make a verdict to oblige President Nicolae Timofti proposing a candidate for prime minister’s post. Votes of 51 MPs are needed for the candidate to become the prime minister.

This weekend, several dozens of veterans of the Dniester military conflict came to the president’s residence and publicly condemned Plahotniuc’s intentions to use the Constitutional Court in order to come to power illegally. They said they were representing several hundreds of veterans who were ready to take to the streets of Chisinau in case the Constitutional Court makes it possible for Plahotniuc to become the prime minister.

Earlier, Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti appointed Ion Sturza as prime minister without coordinating the candidature with leaders of the parliamentary factions. The parliament is to decide whether Sturza becomes the prime minister is scheduled for January 4. By now, the candidate has failed to have 51 votes in his support.