Moldovan president disapproves of appointment of new defence minister to office

Chisinau, 24 October /MOLDPRES/ - President Igor Dodon today disapproved of the appointment of Eugen Sturza to the office of defence minister.   

The official noted that “the act of swearing in office of the defence minister is beyond the political legitimacy and shows how powerlessness makes the governors commit serious errors.”  

“By the fact that I have not allowed those from the Democrat government to force the president’s hand, I brought them to the situation to repeatedly use the Constitutional Court. Yet, the precedents the Democrats dared to create will become the instrument because of which they will suffer,” Dodon wrote on a social networking.   

Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu, in his capacity of acting president, today signed a decree on the appointment of Eugen Sturza to the office of defence minister. Subsequently, Sturza took the oath of allegiance.  

On 12 September 2017, the prime minister put forward to the Moldovan head of state the candidacy of Eugen Sturza for the office of defence minister, turned down by the president. Subsequently, the prime minister put up the same candidature, repeatedly rejected by the head of state. Subsequently, the cabinet appealed to the Constitutional Court to clear up the actions which can be undertaken by the prime minister and the decisions which can be passed by parliament, if the president refuses the repeated proposal on appointment of a minister to office. Following the notification, the Court issued a note, thereby establishing that the parliament speaker or the prime minister can issue the decree on appointment of the defence minister and can receive his oath.      

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor M. Jantovan)