Magistrates of the Constitutional Court (CC) have declared inadmissible the application of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) on the validation of the mandate of deputy in the Moldovan Parliament awarded to the former communist, democratic MP, and later substitute candidate on the list of the “Shor” political party, declared unconstitutional on June 19, 2023.

The judges of the High Court held that the declaration of a party’s unconstitutionality cannot be reconciled with the idea that the authorities could possibly request the validation of the MP’s mandate from the party in question in the event of a vacancy in the post of MP.

“Thus, although current MPs can continue their mandates as independent MPs, this does not mean that vacant mandates can be filled, since the compatibility of substitute candidates with the office of MP cannot be questioned if the party has been declared unconstitutional (…).

(…) Taking into account the considerations of the Constitutional Court’s judgment no. 10 of 19 June 2023, the Court finds that the application to the Central Electoral Commission concerning the validation of the mandate of deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, awarded to Mr Vladimir Vitiuc, alternate candidate on the list of the “Shor” Political Party, is inadmissible.

This decision is final, may not be subject to any appeal, enters into force on the date of its adoption and is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova,” the CC decision reads.

In early May, the CEC initiated the procedure to validate the mandate of Vladimir Vitiuc, the alternate candidate on the lists of the “Shor” party, which has since been declared unconstitutional. The former communist and later democrat MP would have taken the place of Ilan Shor, who at the end of April lost his parliamentary seat after being sentenced to 15 years in a closed prison for fraud and money laundering in the “bank fraud” case.

Former PCRM, PDM and Shor Party MP Vladimir Vitiuc became a citizen of Romania: “This is a historic moment”

In February 2023, Ziarul de Gardă wrote that the former communist, democrat and later member of the unconstitutionally declared “Șor” Party became a Romanian citizen with proper papers. Vitiuc, a Russian-speaking native of Balti, took the oath of allegiance to Romania at the National Authority for Citizenship in Bucharest on Monday. He was caught by chance before taking the oath of citizenship of Romania.

Later, after swearing allegiance to Romania, Vitiuc told ZdG that his grandparents were Romanian citizens and that he had benefited from the right to regain Romanian citizenship. “This is a historic moment,” he said.