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Moldova’s Democratic Party leader to be punished for ‘usurping power’ — premier

Sandu also demanded immediate resignation of the country’s prosecutor general, Eduard Harunjen

The leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), Vladimir Plahotniuc Vadim Denisov/TASS

The leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), Vladimir Plahotniuc

© Vadim Denisov/TASS

CHISINAU, June 15. /TASS/. The leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), Vladimir Plahotniuc, will be prosecuted for "usurping power" and other crimes, Moldovan Prime Minister Maia Sandu told reporters on Friday.

"Very soon, the independent justice system will take relevant measures, in line with the law, against Plahotniuc and those who violated the law by obeying his direct orders," Sandu said, accusing the politician of "usurping the power in the country."

During the media briefing, she also demanded immediate resignation of the country’s prosecutor general, Eduard Harunjen.

For several months, Moldova’s parliament elected in February has been trying to establish the ruling coalition and form the government. Only on June 8, the Party of Socialists supporting Moldovan President Igor Dodon finally managed to reach agreement with the pro-EU bloc Acum (Now) to oppose the Democratic Party led by oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, which controlled the former parliament and the cabinet. The leader of the Party of Socialists Zinaida Greceanii was elected the parliament’s speaker, and the government was formed with Maia Sandu, the leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity, a part of the Acum bloc, as the prime minister.

The Democratic Party refused to recognize the new government and filed a request with the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the parliament’s resolutions were illegitimate as the parliament had failed to form the government within a period of 90 days in conformity with law (from March 9 when the lawmakers received their mandates).

After that, the Constitutional Court authorized acting Prime Minister and member of the Democratic Party Pavel Filip to sign a decree on the parliament’s dissolution instead of the president. President Dodon described this step as an attempt to usurp power.

On Friday, deputy leader of the Democratic Party Vladimir Cebotari announced the party’s decision to go into opposition. However, in his words, this move and the Pavel Filip cabinet’s resignation cannot be seen as a solution to the "problem of legal and constitutional blocking," as the Constitutional Court had ruled to dissolve the parliament and recognized its decisions, including on the Sandu government, as illegal.

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