Moldovan parliament votes in favor of dissolving Shor Party faction

CHISINAU. June 22 (Interfax) - The Moldovan parliament has decided to dissolve the faction of the Shor Party, which the Constitutional Court recently declared unconstitutional.

Parliamentary Chairman Igor Grosu said on Thursday that the decision to dissolve the faction was made pursuant to the Constitutional Court's judgment. The decision was supported by members of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) faction, which has a parliamentary majority. The members of the opposition Bloc of Communists and Socialists abstained.

According to parliament's decision, Shor Party faction members have been granted the status of unaffiliated legislators, but have been expelled from the Standing Bureau and parliamentary friendship groups.

The members of the Shor Party faction, who have boycotted parliamentary sessions for several months, were absent in the hall during the voting. Grosu earlier warned that MPs who fail to attend sessions without valid reasons might be stripped of their remuneration.

The Moldovan Constitutional Court declared the Shor Party unconstitutional on June 19, based on a government motion and Article 41 of the constitution, which stipulates that "parties whose activities run counter to political pluralism, the principles of the rule of law, Moldova's sovereignty and independence, as well as its territorial integrity, are unconstitutional."

The Constitutional Court's judgment stipulates that the Shor Party is dissolved from the moment the decision is promulgated. The Justice Ministry is supposed to set up an ad-hoc commission to finalize the legal procedures pertaining to the Shor Party's liquidation and its removal from the register of political parties. All the lawmakers who belonged to the Shor Party have retained their mandates, but cannot join other factions.

The Shor Party's leaders have declared their intention to appeal the Constitutional Court's ruling with the European Court of Human Rights.