Moldova's Constitutional Court validates EU integration referendum
The Constitutional Court's decision to validate the results of the constitutional republican referendum held on October 20, 2024, has been published in the Official Gazette and has thus come into effect.
As a result of this outcome, the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova will include a new chapter entitled: INTEGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION.
The document introduces two new clauses into the preamble of the Constitution: “RECONFIRMING the European identity of the people of the Republic of Moldova and the irreversibility of the Republic of Moldova's European path. DECLARING integration into the European Union as a strategic objective of the Republic of Moldova.”
The new Title V, first - INTEGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION, will establish the following provisions regarding accession to the founding treaties and the acts amending the treaties of the European Union:
(1) The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova shall establish, through organic law, the accession to the founding treaties of the European Union and their amendments.
(2) Upon accession, the binding provisions of the founding treaties and other European legal acts shall take precedence over any conflicting provisions in national legislation, in accordance with the accession act's stipulations.
It is important to note that the Constitutional Court validated the results of the referendum on Thursday, October 31, regarding the referendum held on October 20.
Citizens were called to vote on October 20 to elect their future president and to participate in the constitutional republican referendum concerning the Republic of Moldova's accession to the European Union, answering the question: “Do you support amending the Constitution for the Republic of Moldova's accession to the European Union?”
According to data provided by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), 50.72 percent of voters participated in the elections. Out of a total of over one million 488 thousand valid votes cast, 50.35 percent voted for the YES option, while 49.65 percent voted for the NO option.
As stated by the electoral code, the decision put to the republican referendum is considered adopted if a majority of citizens who participated in the plebiscite vote in favour. Therefore, it will be published in a special issue of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
