CEC blocks referendum to recall Coșnița mayor
In the commune of Coșnita, located in the Dubăsari district, a referendum will not be held to dismiss the mayor. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has rejected the registration application submitted by the initiative group seeking to hold a local plebiscite to remove Alexandru Grigoraș from office. The electoral authority determined that the evidence provided was insufficient to establish the legal grounds required to initiate this procedure.
The decision was adopted during a meeting on Friday, July 24, after reviewing the documents submitted by the initiative group and considering arguments presented by the involved parties. According to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), the verification process revealed the need to remove certain non-conformities, submit additional clarifications, and obtain the perspective of the mayor of Coșnița commune.
After analyzing all the documents, the Commission concluded that "no evidence was presented to confirm, in the manner established by law, the existence of grounds for initiating the local referendum to recall the mayor, even though the procedural conditions for establishing the initiative group were met."
The CEC explained that, according to electoral legislation, the procedure for recalling a local elected official can only be initiated if that official does not respect the interests of the community, fails to exercise their powers properly, or violates moral and ethical norms. Such claims must be substantiated by evidence in accordance with the requirements of the law.
In this context, the Commission emphasized that the arguments raised by the initiators lack sufficient factual and legal elements to demonstrate the existence of legal grounds for initiating the mayor's recall procedure.
We remind you that the referendum initiators accuse Mayor Grigoraș, who was elected on the Socialist Party ticket, of "betraying" the community's interests and of attempting to illegally open a sand-and-gravel quarry in the area.
In a local referendum held in Coșnița on June 21, over 95% of participants voted against changing the purpose of lands on the outskirts of the commune to permit sand extraction.
The exploitation of sand and gravel in Coșnița was halted in April this year by the Inspectorate for Environmental Protection. This decision was made after inspectors discovered that the companies involved did not have the local council's consent to change the land's use, which is a mandatory requirement for legal operation.
