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FM AMEMBASSY CHISINAU
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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHISINAU 000080 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UMB 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PINR MD
SUBJECT:  ACTING PRESIDENT PREFERS NEW 
CONSTITUTION TO ELECTIONS, READY TO DEFY ALLIANCE 
PARTNERS 
 
Classified by: Ambassador Asif J. Chaudhry for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  In a February 3 meeting, Acting 
President Ghimpu told the Ambassador that he hoped 
to address Moldova's difficulties in electing a 
President through constitutional reform.  Ghimpu 
said there were serious disagreements within the 
governing alliance over holding repeat 
parliamentary elections, with Prime Minister Filat 
and former presidential candidate Lupu in favor, 
while he and Our Moldova (AMN) leader Urechean 
would prefer to avoid such balloting.  Ghimpu 
ruled out the possibility of amending the 
Constitution through a parliamentary vote, and 
said he favors introducing a new Constitution 
through a popular referendum. 
 
¶2. (C) In a separate meeting later that day, 
Constitutional Court Chairman Pulbere acknowledged 
the need to change the mechanism for electing a 
President, but suggested that a popular referendum 
on the topic might likely fail.  More importantly, 
Pulbere believed any such referendum should be 
held after repeat elections, asserting that any 
amendments to the Constitution required a six- 
month period for review by his Court.  End 
Summary. 
 
Ghimpu:  Avoid Elections, Initiate Referendum 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) In a February 3 meeting, Acting President 
Mihai Ghimpu told Ambassador Chaudhry that he 
believed early parliamentary elections would be 
"risky" and even "suicidal," arguing that the 
Communist Party (PCRM) might come back to power, 
particularly if they were seriously supported by 
the Russians.  Furthermore, Ghimpu said that if he 
left the presidency, Moldova's policy on the 
important issues of language and identity would 
shift (Ghimpu favors calling the state language 
Romanian, not Moldovan). "Why fight for power if 
we already have power?," Ghimpu asked, adding that 
he was looking at all legal means to reform the 
Constitution to elect the President, and thus 
avoid repeat parliamentary elections. 
 
¶4. (C) Ghimpu ruled out the possibility of 
Parliament amending the Constitution, both because 
this required a two-thirds majority of 67 votes, 
and because of the requirement of a six-month 
period for the Constitutional Court to review the 
draft of proposed amendments after the initial 
parliamentary vote.  Instead, he suggested that a 
parallel means of adopting laws, including a 
Constitution, existed, through the will of the 
people as expressed in a referendum.   This 
procedure was envisioned in the Electoral Code in 
the paragraph on referendums, which provided for 
the possibility of approving laws referring to the 
character of the state and the adoption of the 
Constitution by popular vote.  Ghimpu added that 
this issue had to be decided before June 16, when 
he would be required to dissolve the Parliament. 
(Note:  the Acting President is required to 
dissolve Parliament, but since it cannot be 
dissolved twice within one year, he cannot do it 
before that date.) 
 
¶5. (C) Ghimpu also noted that one law would have 
to be changed in order to successfully carry out a 
referendum.  Under the current legislation, a 
referendum is only approved if 50 percent plus one 
of the entire electoral body votes in favor, while 
Ghimpu believed a referendum had a better chance 
of passing if the law were changed to require 50 
percent plus one of those voting.  Ghimpu told the 
Ambassador that he had already begun preparations 
for changing that article (but did not specify 
what he had done).  (Note:  We understand that the 
constitutional commission headed by Ghimpu is 
proposing as many as 80 constitutional amendments, 
which essentially will amount to a new 
Constitution.) 
 
Disagreements Within Alliance 
----------------------------- 
 
 
CHISINAU 00000080  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶6. (C) Ghimpu conceded that there were serious 
disagreements within the Alliance on this issue. 
Filat and Lupu were ready for elections, while 
both he and Urechean were opposed.  Ghimpu said he 
was disappointed with the failure of the Alliance 
leaders to agree -- in fact, he said, the Alliance 
"could disappear" unless the issue was resolved -- 
but said the leaders continued to try to negotiate 
a common position.  Nevertheless, he suggested 
that he would not accede to repeat elections, even 
if all his Alliance partners agreed to them. 
 
¶7. (C) Ghimpu further complained that the 
interests of the Alliance leaders were 
"diverging."  Ghimpu said that Filat had not 
returned his phone calls over the past several 
days, and he also blamed Filat for "destroying" 
Urechean's party (Note: the AMN split recently). 
Filat was trying to gain AMN votes, he said, but 
in the end, AMN's demise would benefit the PCRM. 
Ghimpu also stressed that he remained loyal to the 
Alliance commitment to support the presidential 
candidacy of Lupu, who had provided the votes to 
allow the Alliance to take power. 
 
Constitutional Court Chair Has Different View 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) In a separate meeting later in the day, 
Constitutional Court Chair Dumitru Pulbere opined 
that there needed to be a change in the mechanism 
for electing a President, or else Moldova could 
remain in political limbo.  Pulbere, who was an MP 
from 1998-2001, believed that "a big mistake" was 
made in 2000 when the Constitution was amended to 
have Parliament elect the President.  Thus, 
concluded Pulbere, it would be judicially correct 
to "re-amend" that specific article, and return to 
a popular vote for president. 
 
¶9. (C) However, Pulbere said, the problem was how 
to go about doing this.  A constitutional 
amendment in Parliament would require 67 votes, 
which neither side would give the other, and hence 
was impossible.  And even if Parliament prepared a 
draft law on amending the Constitution, it was 
required to ask the Constitutional Court for its 
opinion and wait a mandated period of six months 
before any vote. 
 
¶10. (C) Regarding a referendum, Pulbere said that 
it could be used to introduce a new Constitution, 
but not to amend an existing one.  Pulbere opined 
that in the current unstable political situation, 
it also was unwise to introduce a new Constitution 
hurriedly; in addition, he said, the PCRM would 
likely boycott a referendum, making passage 
unlikely due to low voter turnout.  Furthermore, 
since Ghimpu was required to disband Parliament as 
of June 16, triggering new elections, there was no 
time to change the Constitution. 
 
¶11. (C) Pulbere therefore concluded that repeat 
elections must take place.  He suggested that a 
referendum on Constitutional change could be held, 
but believed this should only be done after repeat 
elections, and cautioned that any changes would 
still require the six month waiting period. 
Pulbere also noted the lack of unity within the 
Alliance over the issue, and suggested that 
introducing a new Constitution would open a 
Pandora's box of controversial questions, such as 
the language issue (Pulbere hypothesized that in a 
referendum, 70-80 percent of the nation would 
prefer to call their language Moldovan, not 
Romanian). 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (C) The constitutional questions surrounding 
changing the rules to elect a President are 
complex and murky even for legal experts.  While 
Alliance leaders told the Ambassador in mid- 
December that they would examine all legal avenues 
to amend the Constitution to ensure Lupu's 
election -- and avoid a repeat parliamentary vote 
-- Ghimpu is clearly out in front of the others in 
pushing the issue.  However, the GOM has also 
 
CHISINAU 00000080  003 OF 003 
 
 
asked the Venice Commission for a legal opinion. 
Should (as some here expect) the Commission 
recommend against any extra-parliamentary changes, 
it is unlikely that Filat and Lupu will support 
Ghimpu's endeavors to avoid elections. 
 
¶13. (C) In addition, given Lupu's more sanguine 
attitude toward new elections, Ghimpu's approach 
leaves him open to charges that he is self- 
servingly seeking to cling to power, and makes it 
appear that he is deeply concerned about his 
party's showing in a repeat parliamentary vote. 
His comments to the Ambassador also indicate that 
his relationship with Filat is increasingly tense. 
 
CHAUDHRY