Experts about the amnesty scandal: PAS risks losing trust, while the opposition gains electoral ground
The amendments to the Amnesty Law, voted in 2021 and 2022 by the parliamentary majority and which allowed the release of some life convicts, risk seriously affecting the image of the government, giving the opposition a new opportunity to attack, warns political expert Mihai Mogâldea. According to him, pro-Russian parties could exploit the scandal to consolidate their electoral position.
"I believe that the current opposition has grounds to speculate on this situation because it is serious when a deputy acts in such a way and it is even more serious when an entire faction votes for amendments without understanding what the legal consequences of approving these amendments may be in relation to some life-sentenced criminals in our prisons and the integrity of the justice system in Moldova, which is already seriously affected by corruption and abuse of power," said Mogâldea.
The expert believes that this scandal could diminish citizens' trust in the ruling party, especially in a crucial election year. At the same time, says Mogâldea, the opposition, including pro-Russian parties, could take advantage of the situation to increase their influence.
"We have a political situation that favours opposition forces, especially those actors who are financed by the Russian Federation and who have invested a lot of resources in disinformation, propaganda, unfounded allegations against the current government, but who today benefit from more leniency or support from the public, due to the fact that some of these allegations have materialised or proven to be true", the expert explained.
Another important aspect is the political future of deputy Olesea Stamate, who was excluded from PAS following this scandal. Mihai Mogâldea does not rule out the possibility that she will continue her political career through a new project, or, according to him, for now there are no signals that she intends to give up her mandate as a deputy, as requested by the governing party, on whose lists she was elected.
While public attention has focused on MP Olesea Stamate, legal expert Alexandru Bot points out that responsibility cannot be placed solely on a member of Parliament, given that the amendment to the law was supported by the entire parliamentary majority.
“Even if that MP had bad intentions in proposing these amendments, what did the other 50 or so colleagues who voted for these amendments do?”, asks lawyer Alexandru Bot.
In the “Zi de Zi” show on Radio Moldova, Bot criticised the lack of transparency in the legislative process, stating that the amendments to the Amnesty Law were introduced on the very day of the vote, without respecting the 10-day deadline provided for in the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.
“This rule is completely ignored in any legislative exercise, whether it is about the Amnesty Law or any other law”.
