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Resolution 1666 (2009) Final version
The functioning of democratic institutions in Moldova
1. On 5 April 2009, parliamentary
elections took place in Moldova. These elections were an essential
test for Moldova’s democracy and should have enabled the country
to strengthen democratic institutions and make progress towards
European integration. In the view of the Parliamentary Assembly’s
ad hoc committee which observed the elections, "they met many international
standards and commitments but further improvements were required
to ensure an electoral process free of undue administrative interference
and to increase public confidence". The debates on public television
held on the principle of a ballot to determine the speakers should have
given candidates the opportunity to get their messages across. Nevertheless,
it was noted that the opposition did not get across its ideas and
programmes. Furthermore, the observers noted that:
1.1. the electoral process was marked
by a number of significant procedural shortcomings and that significant
improvements in the electoral process were required;
1.2. the state broadcaster blurred the distinction between
the coverage of duties of state officials and their campaign activities;
1.3. although the campaign environment was pluralist, peaceful
and without any major violent incidents, it was marked by frequent
allegations of intimidation of voters and candidates, as well as
by claims of misuse of administrative resources.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly regrets that some of the problems
are identical to those detected in previous elections in Moldova
and, most recently, during the local elections of 3 and 17 June
2007. In this respect, the Assembly recalls its Resolution 1572 (2007) on
the honouring of obligations and commitments by Moldova, in which
it:
2.1. underlines that such recurrent
problems in Moldovan electoral practice are not in line with the obligations
that Council of Europe member states which are aspiring to build
a pluralist democratic society based on the rule of law must respect;
2.2. invites the authorities to carefully study and take into
account the conclusions of the international observers on the local
elections of June 2007, with a view to eliminating all shortcomings
with respect to European standards for democratic elections in order
to conduct totally free, fair, and democratic parliamentary elections
in 2009.
3. The Assembly is seriously concerned about the Moldovan authorities’
partial compliance with its earlier recommendations regarding the
improvement of the electoral process and the strengthening of the
state’s democratic institutions before the parliamentary elections
of 5 April 2009. The amendments introduced to the Electoral Code
in April 2008 raised the electoral threshold from 4% to 6%, did
not provide for electoral coalitions of political parties and socio-political
organisations and introduced a ban on the exercise of elevated public functions
by Moldovan citizens holding multiple nationality. The combined
effect of these amendments was to restrict the opportunities for
a number of political forces to participate effectively in the political
process, thus weakening pluralism. Despite the holding of debates
on the principle of a ballot to determine the speakers, the opposition
did not take advantage of this opportunity to enlarge on their ideas
and political programmes, but employed this time in arguing with
each other.
4. The Assembly deplores the fact that the peaceful protest in
front of the buildings of the presidency and the parliament which
began on 6 April 2009, mainly at the initiative of young people
who did not accept the results of the elections, degenerated on
7 April 2009 into a violent attack on, and destruction of, the buildings of
the parliament and the presidency, as well as the destruction of
several public buildings. The right to demonstrate is essential
in a democracy. It is also a government’s duty, and the duty of
the authorities concerned, to ensure its citizens' right to security
when public order is disturbed. It is always difficult to reconcile respect
for these reciprocal rights. But there is no right which allows
public buildings to be destroyed and burned down, thus endangering
the lives of the people inside them. Consequently, the Assembly
firmly condemns such acts of violence, which must never be used
in a democratic society as a vehicle to express political opinions.
5. At the same time, the Assembly disapproves of the statements
made by the Moldovan authorities immediately after the outbreak
of violence, in which officials at the highest political level,
without first having conducted a thorough investigation, accused
the opposition of staging the violent protests in an attempt to organise
a coup d’état. The Assembly believes that, in the circumstances,
the authorities should have shown greater restraint in their statements
in order to calm the situation.
6. The Assembly is strongly concerned about acts of violence
that were committed by the police during the post-electoral events.
According to the information available, more than 300 people were
arrested and 9 are still being held in detention. These were reported
by numerous international and domestic non-governmental organisations,
as well as by the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture,
established under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment. These include:
6.1. certain
alleged cases of “beating and ill-treatment”;
6.2. violations of the right to a fair trial and of the right
to an effective remedy, as defined by the European Convention on
Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and the case law of the European Court
of Human Rights;
6.3. disproportionate restrictions on freedom of access to
information and freedom of the media, and attacks against journalists.
7. The Assembly urges that an independent and thorough investigation
of all these allegations of violence be started immediately, and
that those responsible for these violations be brought to trial.
In this context, full co-operation needs to be established with
the responsible bodies of the Council of Europe, particularly the Commissioner
for Human Rights and the European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
8. With a view to improving confidence in the country’s democratic
institutions, the Assembly once more urges the Moldovan authorities
to fully implement, in this particular context, the recommendations
contained in its earlier Resolution
1572. In particular, the Assembly urges the authorities
to:
8.1. resume reform of the electoral
legislation, in co-operation with the European Commission for Democracy
through Law (Venice Commission), in order to lower the electoral
threshold for political parties, thus opening up the political process
for more pluralism; immediately review the voters’ lists in order
to establish them definitively, introducing an obligation for regular
review, and abolish in future supplementary lists; put in place
mechanisms and procedures enabling the many Moldovan citizens residing
abroad to exercise effectively their voting rights;
8.2. suspend the application of articles of the Electoral Code
prohibiting people who hold multiple citizenship from exercising
elevated public functions, while awaiting the judgment of the Grand
Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Tanase
and Chirtoaca v. the Republic of Moldova;
8.3. continue national and local media reform, promoting in
both law and practice media pluralism, and transform the state-funded
television and radio channels into a genuine public broadcasting
service offering to the population a plurality of views, and at
the same time remove from the state ambit the written and audiovisual
press controlled and financed by the local public authorities;
8.4. increase the effectiveness and professionalism of the
courts and build up the confidence of the population in the effectiveness
of domestic judicial remedies against alleged human rights violations;
8.5. further reform the police; create effective remedies against
excessive force and violence by members of the police; set up training
for police officers, so as to ensure that they always act in full compliance
with the law and in conformity with the standards of the European
Code of Police Ethics, which is enshrined in Committee of Ministers
Recommendation Rec(2001)10 to member states on the European Code
of Police Ethics;
8.6. considerably improve conditions of detention to bring
them fully into line with European standards; transfer responsibility
for pre-trial detention from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to
the Ministry of Justice;
8.7. facilitate the access of human rights defenders to all
places of detention, including those still administered by the Ministry
of Internal Affairs;
8.8. ensure that all cases of police ill-treatment are subject
to prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations and
subsequent prosecution where appropriate; implement fully the recommendations
of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
9. The Assembly calls on Moldova and its neighbours and partners,
particularly Romania, Ukraine and Russia, which are also members
of the Council of Europe, to play a constructive role in calming
the tensions and promoting dialogue between all the political stakeholders,
while respecting the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
10. At the same time, the Assembly emphasises that all Moldovan
political stakeholders, representing the majority and the opposition,
must themselves shoulder their responsibilities, notably relating
to the post-electoral situation, in order to resolve the current
political crisis and to restart a normal political process. To this end,
it recommends that:
10.1. all political
stakeholders should recognise the legal force of the decision of
the Constitutional Court confirming the results of the elections;
anyone who disputes the result of the elections has the right to
use any legal means available to them, including the European Court
of Human Rights;
10.2. the authorities and all political stakeholders should
immediately and resolutely condemn violence and commit themselves
to using only democratic political means to defend their positions,
ideas and programmes;
10.3. an independent, transparent and credible inquiry into
the post-electoral events and into the circumstances which led to
them must be held immediately, in addition to the independent investigation into
all the aforementioned allegations of human rights violations;
10.4. the parties that successfully clear the electoral threshold
and sit in the parliament should engage in a constructive dialogue
within the framework of the parliamentary process in order to resolve
the current political crisis and put the political process back
on the right track; democratic debate must now take place in the
parliament; the election of the future president of the country
should offer a concrete opportunity to restore confidence in the
democratic process;
10.5. at the same time, the parliamentary majority and the opposition
should engage in an inclusive political dialogue with a wide participation
of extra-parliamentary forces and civil society in order to develop
their vision for the country’s future, on the basis of democratic
principles and the European integration they subscribed to;
10.6. the new parliament should promptly draw up and adopt an
action plan with concrete measures and deadlines on the implementation
of the Assembly recommendations contained in this resolution, as well
as commitments taken, as established in Resolution 1572 (2007) on the honouring
of obligations and commitments by Moldova.
11. Therefore, the Assembly resolves to continue to give attention
to the situation in Moldova and invites its Monitoring Committee,
at its next meeting prior to the June 2009 part-session, to examine
the progress achieved by the Moldovan authorities and the opposition
with regard to the implementation of this and the previous resolutions,
and to propose any further action to be taken as required by the
situation.