Referendum on dismissal of Balti mayor to take place in early March

Chisinau, 19 January /MOLDPRES/ – The municipal council of Balti, meeting today, voted in favour of decision that referendum on dismissal of mayor, Renato Usatii, to take place on 04 March 2018.

At the end of December 2017, Renato Usatii urged the Balti Municipal Council, in which Partidul Nostru (Our Party) holds majority, to initiate procedure of convening a local referendum for his dismissal. And on 03 January 2018, there voted 27 out of 35 local Balti elected members on decision to hold that referendum.

Twenty one councilors of Partidul Nostru (PN) voted for decision today, who in the last few days stayed inside the city hall and announced hunger strike.

A local referendum on dismissal of the mayor may be initiated by either ten per cent of the voting population or two thirds of the elected councilors. PN faction holds the majority in the Balti municipal council and can vote for referendum.

According to the law, in order for a mayor to be dismissed, for his revocation there must vote no less than the number of voters who voted for his election. Thus, if Renato Usatii was elected from the first round by 72 per cent of the number of voters, a similar number of voters should vote for his dismissal. Earlier, head of PN said that if at least 51 per cent of the referendumers vote for it, provided that the same number of voters are presented as in the 2015 local elections, then he would resign.

(Reporter L. Grubii, editor L. Alcaza)