President Igor Dodon threw Moldova into a general crisis, compromising himself on a national and international level. Now, Dodon calls for a change of the system of government in Chișinău, from the parliamentarian to the presidential republic. Dodon believes he is an authoritarian president following the model of Putin or Lukashenko: “you hit your fist on the table and you make everyone work: the prosecutor, the judge, the deputy, and the prime minister …,” Dodon declared before his last visit to Moscow.

To find out why is Dodon advocating for a presidential republic ZdG asks the experts.

Galina Bostan, Executive Director CAPC

Dodon’s obsession with a presidential regime in Moldova is old. And most probably, intensified after Vladimir Putin, his political idol, managed to extend his term until 2036. Dodon thinks that a similar model would be perfectly comfortable for him too, a kind of monarchy in which he would do whatever he wanted. However, he has no chance. 

To be a father of the nation, one has to have at least one national idea. Dodon has none. He thinks about his future and his political and personal interests. He can either stay in power and have as much leverage as possible, or absolve himself of any responsibility for all the wrongs he has done. 

I don’t think he has a chance. I don’t know how many people still believe him because he has told so many lies lately… In general, politicians say many untrue things, but Dodon is lying openly. 

Moldova has changed several systems of government and has chosen the parliamentary system, which is the most representative and appropriate for Moldova because it does not allow people like Dodon to usurp power in the state. This is a guarantee against such people and threats.

Alexandru Arseni, University Professor

Dodon’s claims are pure speculations. To put on a show of strength has nothing to do with the presidential system. Dodon does not know that the presidential republic, as a government system, does not mean a concentration of power. It is about the separation of powers in the state. There is a parliament, a head of state, a government, and an autonomous judiciary. Establishing a system of government in which the president can put on a show of strength in front of deputies, prosecutors, and judges is a specific feature of a dictator. 

Dodon does not want a presidential republic. He has no idea what it is. Dodon speculates. He wants a presidential system, but in fact, he wants to copy the regimes installed by Putin and Lukashenko in Russia and Belarus. Neither Russia nor Belarus are presidential republics. These two countries are dictatorial regimes, where there is no separation of powers, no rights, and freedoms, no rule of law, no control by the people. And such a regime would allow Dodon to put on a show of strength. 

I don’t think that there is anyone in Moldova willing to become a prisoner of a person who is illiterate from a legal, moral, and political point of view. In the United States, none of the presidents would do it, and none put on a show of strength in front of the deputies or prosecutors or the judges … In case anyone did, he/she would be arrested immediately.

Ion Negrei, Historian

The presidential model of the government story is not accidental, especially if it comes from Dodon. The more rigid the regime, the more convenient it is for Russia. These regimes are antidemocratic, which Europe does not approve of. However, these regimes are suitable for Moscow to keep us out of the European and Romanian area of development. 

We see what is going on in Belarus. Russia or Belarus are not models of presidential government. Dodon’s model to put on a show of strength is a dictatorship. All the stakes here are on the force, on manipulation … If it happened, it would be a return to Soviet-type totalitarianism and saying farewell to Europe and to our natural development.