Moldovan Socialists demand Constitutional Court president's resignation due to political remarks
CHISINAU. Nov 18 (Interfax) - The opposition Party of Socialists of Moldova (PSRM) insists that Constitutional Court President Alexandru Tanase has violated the principle of a Constitutional Court judge's independence and therefore must resign.
"Alexandru Tanase has made a number of political statements of late, which go against disciplinary ethics and the norms existing in this area," parliamentarian Vlad Batrincea of the PSRM said at a news briefing at the Constitutional Court.
The PSRM asked the Constitutional Court to air its opinion as to whether Tanase's political remarks and judgments were compatible with the office of a Constitutional Court judge, he said.
"In particular, Alexandru Tanase said that Moldova is a state taken over by oligarchs. In another declaration, the Constitutional Court president said the parliament cannot be dissolved within the last six months of the president's office. We wonder: if Moldova is a state that has been taken over, as Tanase says, why doesn't he see the possibility of the parliament's dissolution? Could he be an accomplice of the people who have taken over the state?" he said.
The previous Constitutional Court president, Dumitru Pulbere, had been forced to resign precisely because of his political remarks, and his resignation was then initiated by Tanase, who came in his stead, Batrincea said.
"The Party of Socialists' main goal is the parliament's dissolution and early parliamentary elections. We are not the only ones who want this. An absolute majority of the country's citizens wish this. The Constitutional Court is supposed to follow the people's will. We expect concrete decisions from the Constitutional Court regarding Moldova's liberation from the takeover," Batrincea said.
PSRM lawyer Fadei Nagacevschi said Tanase had exceeded his authority while saying that the parliament cannot be dissolved.