The weekend of June 7-9, 2019, could become one of the most important periods in the history of Moldova. The series of events began with the decisions of the Constitutional Court, criticized by lawyers and a Parliamentary majority formed by PSRM and the ACUM Bloc, and ended with a press release issued by the European Union, showing its willingness to collaborate with “the legitimate Government elected in Chisinau.”

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Friday, June 7th. Negotiations take place on the home stretch before reaching the three-month deadline for Government formation, a term known to expire on Sunday, June 9. Meanwhile, as early as May 22, a petition signed by President Igor Dodon sits on the Constitutional Court (CC) desk without an answer. Igor Dodon’s petition asked the judges to clarify when the three-month term expires and when the Parliament must be dissolved: is it on March 9, the date on which deputies’ mandates were validated, or on March 21, the date of the first formal session of the Parliament elected on February 24, 2019.

While the ACUM Bloc launched invitations to new negotiations to the Socialists, after announcing that they are ready to vote for a Parliament speaker, PDM and PSRM met in talks on forming a Parliamentary majority. Both Democrats and Socialists came to the press with statements and promises that they would announce with whom they form a coalition after each of the parties organizes sessions of their respective National Political Councils (CNP).

Several voices anticipated a PSRM-PDM coalition. The expectation was highlighted by the protest of several hundred people, brought to Chisinau by PDM, who chanted in front of the Legislative: “We want stability, not early elections!” During the period when members of the ACUM Bloc awaited a response from Socialists inside the Parliament, the authorities urged everyone to leave the building because there was a call to the 112 Emergency Service announcing that a bomb was placed in the institution.

On Friday evening, after PSRM’s CNP meeting, Igor Dodon came out to the press with an uncertain position, announcing that PSRM would not form a coalition with the PDM: “Either we’re with those on the right side of the spectrum, or early elections… Most likely we will have early parliamentary elections. We will see what will happen in the next few hours”, the head of the state said.

After the refusal of PSRM to form a coalition with PDM, in less than an hour after the working day was over, CC, formed by three former members of PDM and others accused of subordination to the party led by Vladimir Plahotniuc, replied to Igor Dodon that “the three-month term in which the newly-elected Parliament must form the Government runs from the date of the election’s validation”, which was on March 9. In one article in the decision, judges equate the three months stipulated in the Constitution to 90 days, without explaining their calculation and without explaining how they reached the conclusion that 3 months are equal to only 90 days.

Shortly after the CC’s unclear decision, the Democrats held a briefing and announced that it is necessary to hold early elections, because the Socialists and the ACUM Bloc would have put their interests above the interests of the citizens.

Meanwhile, despite the interdiction to enter the building on the grounds that the bomb alert is still valid, several PSRM MPs have entered the Parliament for talks with the ACUM Bloc. Representatives of both fractions left the Parliament building close to midnight, with the statement that discussions will continue next day and that their lawyers consider that the deadline for forming the Government has not expired, to the dissatisfaction of PDM, who insisted on early elections.

June 8th. Saturday began with a morning statement from the CC announcing that, in fact, the term for the formation of a new government has expired on June 7th. In spite of the announcement of the CC, PSRM and the ACUM Bloc claimed that the CC has usurped state power and announce the creation of a “temporary” Parliamentary majority with the aim to “de-oligarchise” and “free the state from captivity.” Shortly after, Dodon announced that he would not dissolve Parliament, and the Legislative is planning a meeting for 12.30. Democrats continue to argue that the Parliament would become illegal after June 7, even if the institution was not dissolved.

Thus, the coalition PSRM-ACUM Bloc have elected Zinaida Greceanii, PSRM president, as Speaker of the Parliament. Subsequently, after consulting with the parliamentary fractions of PSRM and the ACUM Bloc, Igor Dodon appointed Maia Sandu as candidate to the post of Prime Minister, her candidacy being unanimously approved. The new Cabinet of Ministers led by Sandu was sworn in immediately, at the end of the Parliamentary session.

Meanwhile, the CC, summoned by the Democrats, issued a new ruling, announcing that the head of state is obliged to call on the Court in the circumstances of the dissolution of Parliament. In two successive judgments, both issued in record time after the statements of the Democrats, the CC declared unconstitutional the decision of the Parliament to elect Zinainda Greceanii as Speaker and President Dodon’s decree by which Sandu was appointed Prime Minister. The CC has issued a judgement even before it obtained the Parliament’s decision or the head of state’s decree oficially.

“Any act and / or legislative act that has the purpose of carrying out the activity of Parliament after the occurrence of the circumstances leading to its compulsory dissolution constitutes a serious violation of Constitutional provisions and is ab initio null”, the Court claimed.

Parliament’s activity continued with the 61 vote adoption of a statement on the recognition of a state of capture of the Republic of Moldova and of the “Declaration on the condemnation of attempted usurpation of state power by the CC in favor of PDM.” At the same meeting, the deputies granted the head of state the power to appoint the head of the State Protection and Security Service and dismissed SIS director, Vladimir Botnari and the head of CNA, Bogdan Zumbreanu.

Against the backdrop of the events in Parliament, PDM leader Vladimir Plahotniuc called the actions of the majority PSRM-ACUM “a coup d’etat attempt” and said that President Dodon had lost his legitimacy, asking for his resignation. PDM vice-president Andrian Candu said that until June 7, Dodon had talks with Vladimir Plahotniuc to form a PDM-PSRM ruling coalition, but the deal failed because the head of state, in the final sprint, would have submitted a list of conditions, dictated by Moscow, which would have included the federalization of Moldova. As proof, the Democrats shortly published video excerpts from the negotiations between Dodon and Plahotniuc.

Meanwhile, tents have been installed in front of the Government, ministries, and other state institutions, under the pretext of “defending” the state. Among the protesters, PDM sympathizers were observed. Saturday ended with calls to calm and to overcoming the “political deadlock” from the EU and the US Embassy in Chișinău.

June 9th. The signals that PDM was preparing a mass demonstration in the Great National Assembly Square (PMAN) were confirmed in the early hours of the morning. On the way to Chisinau, and later on the adjacent streets of PMAN, dozens of minibuses and buses that organized and brought people to participate in a protest of PDM were observed.

In the Parliament building, however, a plenary session was held, with a single subject on the agenda, the adoption of a Declaration by which the Filip Government was declared out of the frames of law and was called “to ensure a peaceful transition of power”.

While the Government’s building was teeming with policemen and the PMAN with people brought by PDM from different regions of the country, the CC issued a new decision, establishing the circumstances justifying the nomination of an interim President of the Republic of Moldova, in the case in which Igor Dodon did not issue a decree for the dissolution of the Parliament.

At the same time, Pavel Filip, appointed as President ad interim for the period of the signing of the document, signs a decree on the dissolution of Parliament and the scheduling of early parliamentary elections on September 6, 2019, with the explanation that this would be the only solution “as a result of the crisis that has been triggered by PSRM and the ACUM Bloc.”

One hour later, the PDM leadership calls for the resignation of Igor Dodon, accusing him of treason of the homeland for planning the federalization of Moldova and accusing PSRM of being financed by the Russian Federation, chants with “We are the people, Dodon is the traitor” were heard from the PMAN stage. When approached, many people who were brought to the protest hid their faces and refused to speak about why they came.

The protesters, led by Vlad Plahotniuc, went to the Presidency, where turkeys were thrown over the fence. The reason for the gesture could not be explained later by PDM’s leadership. Andrian Candu said that he did not know whose idea it was and who applied it in practice.

“He does not want to come out in front of the Moldovans who voted for him. Come out, Dodon, we voted for you, and we’ll be the ones to get you out. Dodon is a traitor”, Plahotniuc shouted in front of the Presidency. These statements of the PDM leader were in contradiction with his claim that he voted for Maia Sandu at the presidential elections in 2016. Maia Sandu was then the candidate for whom the Democrats withdrew Marian Lupu, the PDM candidate from the race. “I voted for the candidate who does not need my support,” the PDM leader said then.

The Democrats-led accusations of treason of the homeland against Igor Dodon turned into a criminal complaint, after the “Faith to the Motherland” Civil Association, led by former Deputy Minister for the Interior Ghenadie Cosovan, filed a petition to the Prosecutor General’s Office asking for a criminal investigation.

The week ended with the official EU response, which announced that it “takes note of Parliament’s decisions, including the formation of the ruling coalition,” and that it is ready to collaborate with the “democratically legitimate Government”.

June 10th. In Chisinau, the Government building continues to be surrounded by policemen and protesters, and Maia Sandu holds the first Government meeting in the Parliament building. At the meeting, the Cebinet dismissed Alexandru Pânzari from the position of head of the General Inspectorate of Police and Tamara Andruşca as head of the National Medical Insurance Company. The former magistrate Gheorghe Balan was named in Pânzari former role.

Meanwhile, Pavel Filip convenes a meeting of the ministers, state secretaries, heads of agencies and public institutions to ask them “to ensure the normal functioning of all institutions”.

Also, the third session of Parliament is held on Monday, approving the creation of the Investigation Commission to elucidate all circumstances of the Moldovan banking system fraud. At this point, Parliament’s employees align with the new Parliamentary majority, and Zinaida Greceanii appears on the Legislative website as Speaker.

Opposite from Parliament’s headquarters, at the Presidency building, Igor Dodon met with accredited ambassadors in Chișinău, including the head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Peter Michalko. The same day, the latter held meetings with the leaders of the ACUM Bloc and with leaders of PDM.

After talks, Dodon announces that, as President, he will work actively with the Sandu Government and the Parliamentary majority of ACUM and PSRM, “in order to implement the necessary reforms and change the criminal-oligarchic system”. On the other hand, PDM vice-president Andrian Candu claims that legal solutions to unlock the current political crisis are “very few or non-existent”, so PDM appeals to the political fractions in Parliament to sit down at the negotiation table. The Democrats to dialogue is turned down by the ACUM Bloc and PSRM, until PDM fulfils three conditions: the immediate release of all state institutions, the withdrawal of aggressive people around the Government buildings, access of the new Cabinet of Ministers to their workplace, and the cessation of any pressures and threats against civil servants and citizens.

On the background of the duel of statements, the Official Monitor publishes, thus giving further legal grounds to Pavel Filip’s decree to dissolve Parliament and to set the date of early parliamentary elections – September 6th. Among other things, Andrian Candu argues the choice of September 6th that, according to the law, the minimum term for organizing early elections is 60 days and the maximum term – 90 days. “The decision sets the maximum deadline, on the 90th day, so that all parties and institutions have time to prepare for parliamentary elections,” Candu argued. Also on Monday, President Dodon announces changes in the composition of the Supreme Security Council (CSS) and convenes a meeting of the CSS the following day. The CSS excludes Ministers from the Filip Government, as well as Pavel Filip and Andrian Candu. Maia Sandu, Andrei Năstase and Zinaida Greceanii are appointed in their place.

June 11th. After the meeting of the CSS, where the general prosecutor and the governor of the National Bank of Moldova (BNM) were absent, Igor Dodon announced that he cancelled Pavel Filip’s decree setting the date of the early elections and that several other decisions were taken: to request the Kroll Report nr. 2 from the General Prosecutor’s Office (PG) and BNM; to address Kroll Company directly to inquire about details of the investigations; to appeal to the international community to get involved in investigating the bank fraud; to request that BNM and the Service for Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering informs the CSS daily about all cash flows exceeding 500,000 lei, starting with January 1, 2019. Dodon says there is information that large amounts of money are being taken out of the country.

The CSS, Dodon claims, qualifies the CC’s decisions as “arbitrary, contrary to the Constitution, and encroaching on national security.” On the same day, the CC responded through a press release to criticisms received, mentioning, among other things, “those who urge the dissolution of the Court are, in fact, in the Republic of Moldova, the enemies of democracy.”

Also on Tuesday, PG announces that it has initiated a criminal case following allegations of illegal financing of PSRM. It happened two days after PDM published video images recording the talks between Dodon and Plahotniuc.

The third session of Parliament took place, where no Democrats, deputies from the “Shor” Party and no independent deputies showed up. PSRM and ACUM voted in first hearing to cancel the mixed electoral system and to return to the proportional system, also changing the voting conditions for citizens abroad, through the possibility to vote for two days.

Also in the first hearing, several amendments to the General Prosecturo’s Office Act were approved. One of these involves the possibility of foreign persons to participate in the competition for the position of General Prosecutor.

“The dispute and attacks” between the President and the PDM leader continued. Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Special Representative of the Russian President for Economic and Trade Relations with Moldova, said that Vladimir Plahotniuc handed him an envelope containing an A4 sheet with proposals for changing Moldova’s political course, with a reorientation towards Moscow and settlement of the Transnistrian problem through federalization. In turn, the Democrats published a fragment of the discussion between Dodon and PDM Vice President Sergey Iaralov, which denotes that the head of state would have discussed with Kozak a possible agreement between PDM and PSRM.

Meanwhile, the country remains divided in two camps: those who support the Filip Government and those who recognize the Sandu Government. On the one hand, some mayors, councillors or professors made public statements expressing their support for the Sandu Government. On the other hand, PDM published a “statement for Moldova’s defense” that was allegedly signed by several mayors, councillors or district presidents.

On the evening of June 11, six employees of Division 6 of the National Investigation Inspectorate (INI), including the head of the subdivision, Anatolie Macovei, announced their support for the Sandu Government and their subordination to the new head, Gheorghe Balan.

Towards the evening, the Filip Government held an unannounced meeting where they took decisions to change the headquarters of the Moldovan Embassy in Israel, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and decision to accept the sale of the former Republican stadium land to the US Embassy in Chișinău.

June 12th. On Wednesday morning, dozens of masked persons from Fulger went to Direction no. 6 of the INI, and the six employees who have declared their support for the Sandu Government were suspended from office during an investigation on the grounds that they had violated the oath of the policeman.

Meanwhile, the Parliament formed by the majority of PSRM-ACUM continued its activity, approving the composition of the permanent commissions of the institution and the composition of the Moldovan Parliament Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

To be continued….