Igor Dodon has the Army, the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), the Office of the Prosecutor General, the National Anticorruption Center (CNA), the Parliament, and other key state institutions in his hands. Now, he also has the Constitutional Court. It happened on Monday, when the socialist deputy Vladimir Țurcan, former ambassador of Moldova to the Russian Federation was elected in what is suspected to be an arranged vote as the next President of the Court. 

“Taking control of the Constitutional Court by political force, whatever it is, is a serious matter,” Prime Minister Maia Sandu said in response to the situation. She asked the magistrates to make their votes public, otherwise, “we reserve the right to act accordingly,” Sandu said. 

To find out how a Socialist Party member became the head of the Constitutional Court, ZDG asks the experts.  

Nicolae Osmochescu, Former Judge of the Constitutional Court 

The question from which I would begin my answer would be where the hell were the ACUM deputies when Țurcan was voted to the Court? No one knew he was a socialist? No one was aware of the name he made for himself in society? They should have looked at how things evolve back then – if the vote for Țurcan as president was not a deal. And now about the secret vote. Indeed, according to the legal norm, the president is elected by secret vote, but no one can forbid me from making my vote public, when there are doubts about rigging, falsification of votes … In the end it’s about judges’ honour and dignity. If the Court wants to save face at all, it needs to cancel its decision and put the president’s election back on the voting table.

Anatol Țăranu, Political Analyst 

Many political analysts have warned from the very beginning that this situation will occur. It was clear that the “Kozak alliance” formation shouldn’t damage Moscow’s interests. Yes, they have largely ceded the Government to the ACUM Bloc, but they have done so, convinced that they will be able to compensate these divestitures with other extremely important areas, such as security and justice. This is what is currently unfolding. The fact that a political person was placed in the position of president of the Constitutional Court, with such clear party affiliations as V. Țurcan, is very serious. 

The Parliament has violated its own Declaration of captured state. The fears of several experts that the de-oligarchization can transform into re-oligarchization are justified… The exchange of accusations between ACUM Bloc and Socialists shows a crisis in the Alliance and the exit from this crisis can be either the breaking of the Alliance and the start of early elections, or the complying of the ACUM Bloc with Dodon’s policy [Russia’s] and consequently the acceptance of Dodon’s domination in the Republic of Moldova. That means submission of the Republic of Moldova in a geopolitical aspect. The situation is very critical and, to a large extent, this is due to the fact that on the pro-Romanian, Unionist flank, no credible force has been created that could counterbalance the situation.

Vitalia Pavlicenco, President of the National Liberal Party 

The ruling coalition Socialists and ACUM Bloc has once again disappointed us. Through the judges elected to the Constitutional Court and the suspicious election of V. Țurcan as head of an extremely important institution for the state of Moldova and its identity. 

We’ve been given a message that the Constitutional Court will be politically servile to Moscow and that it will not make decisions based on international practices. Believing that the de-oligarchization of the Republic of Moldova, through Dodonization, can lead to Europeanization. Dodon pursues a single purpose: to take complete control over the Republic of Moldova, and then renounce cooperation with the ACUM Bloc and  form a new majority or to announce early elections, most likely after the local ones. The solution? I have said it several times: the Union, not agony.

Tudor Deliu, President of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM)

Contrary to expectations, democracy and the rule of law in Moldova are in great danger. Igor Dodon’s pro-Putin Party is seizing the most important institutions and hiding behind the state’s de-oligarchization slogans. The designation of a Socialist representative at the helm of the Constitutional Court, (we know whose game he plays), is serious. 

We will come out these days with a Declaration. Especially because we have supported ACUM Bloc during the Parliamentary elections, but we have not assigned them to do things they are doing in tandem with the socialists. We can no longer tolerate what is happening. Facebook justifications are not convincing – these are games. What could happen next? Hard to say, too many things have been discredited. If things go on like this, we may witness the collapse of not only this coalition, but also of the ACUM Bloc, and we may have early elections.