Lack of opposition, delayed hearings and non-transparency. The irregularities Promo-LEX found during the last two plenary sessions of Parliament
The absence of the opposition from plenary sittings affects the legislative process and does not ensure a genuine debate on the subjects under consideration, Promo-LEX notes. In this regard, the experts recommend that the Permanent Bureau propose holding plenary sittings dedicated to parliamentary opposition projects, as provided for in the Rules of Procedure, and that the parliamentary opposition refrain from not attending the entire plenary sitting or even 2 consecutive sittings, especially in the context of hearing reports from public authorities.
Promo-LEX also noted that the report of the Central Electoral Commission for the year 2022 on the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns and the report of the People's Advocate on respect for human rights and freedoms in the Republic of Moldova in 2022 were heard late, by at least one month.
During the sittings of 13-14 July, 3 draft laws were examined and voted on only 2 days after registration, not having priority or urgency status.
"In Promo-LEX's opinion, voting on drafts in such a short period of time affects the transparency of the decision-making process, but also casts doubts on MPs' understanding of the proposed drafts and their conscious vote", Promo-LEX states.
The authors of the new Promo - LEX report also say that 56% of the decision-making transparency was affected in the 13 and 14 July sittings.
In the context of the vote in first reading of the draft law providing, inter alia, for temporary restriction of the right to be elected for representatives of a party declared unconstitutional, Promo-LEX reiterates the need to respect the principle of proportionality when determining the categories of persons to whom this restriction could be applied, as mentioned in a recent statement.
The association continues to call for a broad public debate on the issue, consultation with the Venice Commission and reiterates that amending electoral legislation before elections is not recommended.
