Moldova becomes stormy

People wearing face masks in the center of Chisinau, rumored to be led by oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, the republic's informal ruler in recent years, people coming in crowds to the parliament ... it seems that Moldova have reached its target due to the legislation on forming branches of power.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Pavel Filip, appointed by the Constitutional Court as the Acting President, signed a decree to dissolve parliament. Along the way, he called on President Igor Dodon, who once again has been stripped of his duties by the Constitutional Court, to resign. "I urge political parties not to hold on to seats or positions, but to present themselves to the people's court. I urge the President of Moldova to do the same," Filip told reporters.

If everything goes according to this scenario, the snap parliamentary elections may take place on September 7. As Filip said, the Democratic Party, which set Chisinau's political agenda before the last elections, allegedly was against early parliamentary elections, but it's a dead-end situation and there is no other way out.

The situation in Moldova has rapidly evolved in the past two days. Waiting with the formation of a parliamentary majority till the last minute, and, therefore, with the election-appointment of the government, in an attempt to extract the maximum dividends from the successful outcome of the parliamentary elections, the Socialist Party, which is perceived as pro-Russian, found a common language with the pro-EU bloc ACUM on Saturday. The sudden and unexpected willingness to compromise is due to the expiration of the constitutional deadline for forming the government, and the republic was threatened by the dissolution of the new parliament, which, in fact, did not even have time to begin work.

Thus, the socialists and ACUM announced on Saturday that they had reached agreement to form a parliamentary majority and a government. Moldovan President Igor Dodon immediately nominated the ACUM block co-chair Maia Sandu as a candidate for the post of prime minister. The candidacy was supported unanimously by all the deputies present. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party was not in the meeting room. However, the majority was not embarrassed by this fact, and the leader of the Party of Socialists Zinaida Greceanii was nominated and approved by the Speaker of Parliament, and President Igor Dodon was given the right to appoint the Security Council.

All this happened in the presence of representatives of the diplomatic serice, who arrived at the meeting of the parliament by special invitation. Foreign diplomats, according to the idea of the inviting party, could increase the legitimacy of the process.

By that time, the "democrats" who remained without power had sounded the alarm and called on its supporters to protest. In response, Dodon urged Moldovan citizens not to respond to provocations and stay at home with their families and friends.

On Sunday morning, the departing power struck back. The Constitutional Court, having studied the circumstances of the formation of a parliamentary majority, declared the actions illegal, because deadline was violated. The discrepancies relate to one day, or even several hours. The Constitutional Court announced that the government should have been formed no later than midnight on June 7 in order to say that the deputies managed to do it in the three months from the day of parliamentary elections allocated by the Constitution. After that several decisions more followed.

President Igor Dodon has been stripped of his duties by the Constitutional Court  following his refusal to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections. PM Pavel Filip was appointed as acting president and, as it was mentioned before, declared the dissolution of the parliament and calls for snap elections.

In response, the parliament, which was declared dissolved by the Constitutional Court, adopted a declaration 'On a seized state,' implying the Democratic Party's actions that was still in power.

The opposing sides accuse each other of usurping power and staging a coup d'état. Supporters of the Democrats have already taken to the streets of Chisinau. According to some reports, supporters of the Socialist Party alliance and ACUM are gathering for their protest actions.

According to political scientist Anatol Tsaranu, if supporters of both political camps appear on the streets of Chisinau, then clashes between them with all the unpredictable consequences that come with it seemed unavoidable.

According to some of his colleagues, this was a consequence of the weakness of the Socialist Party, the ACUM bloc and President Igor Dodon. They remind that it was initially clear that the Democratic Party and oligarch Plakhotnyuk would not say goodbye to power so easily, which, in fact, they didn't hide. But instead of developing and presenting an effective action plan, ACUM and the socialists started a muddy trade with each other and whomever they could, and rushed to do something only when it came to the edge. However, the Constitutional Court considered that the events had passed this deadline, and the success of the socialists and the ACUM bloc in the parliamentary elections turned out to be devalued. According to another popular opinion, the events in Chisinau show a complete devaluation and conventionality of democratic values, when neither the elections nor their results are of particular importance, and the one who is more resolute, impudent, and who has more support from world political centers of power, will succeed in the end.

The parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on February 24. The Socialists received 35 mandates in the 101-seat parliament, the Democrats - 30 mandates, the ACUM - 26 mandates. None of these forces failed to form the government alone, as well as create an alliance.

According to the latest data, the situation in Chisinau continues to deteriorate further. According to observers, in spite of the fact that the world community made statements on the recognition of the new government - the alliance of the Socialist Party and ACUM, the Democratic Party led by oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc have no intention to cede power levers. Experts associate this persistence with Plakhotnyuk's tight situation, who is a participant in criminal proceedings, and not only in Moldova, and the loss of status and influence will only worsen his situation. At the moment, the Democrats seem to be supported by the police, the army announced non-interference in the process, the deputies of the newly elected and dissolved by the Constitutional Court parliament remain blocked in the building of the highest legislative body, as well as Prime Minister Maia Sandu elected by them.