Emergency in Moldova. The country is looking for a way out of the Covid collapse
On March 31, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova decided to introduce a state of emergency in the country due to the sharp worsening of the incidence of COVID-19 and the lack of the required number of vaccines in Moldova. According to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Moldova, announced on March 31, 45 people died from complications in just one day - this is a record for a country with a population of three million. In total, since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of victims is almost 5000 people.
For several months after the resignation of the government of Ion Chicu, the country has been governed by a temporary cabinet of ministers headed by Aurel Ciocoi. According to the acting head of government, he repeatedly appealed to parliament and the presidential office with a call to convene a special meeting of parliament to discuss the critical situation in the country, but all his calls were not heard.
There is a serious shortage of vaccines in the country. The only available vaccine is AstroZeneka, but the use of this vaccine has been suspended due to widespread complications in various countries around the world. Representatives of the Moderna company, in response to a request from Moldovan parliament member Vladimir Odnostalco (PSRM), stated that all vaccine batches for 2021 have already been distributed, and purchases for Moldova can only be planned for the first quarter of next year.
The country's President Maia Sandu said that Moldova will receive 100 thousand doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the COVAX platform, but this batch is clearly not enough to achieve herd immunity. In addition, even this shipment will not arrive in the country until July of this year.
That leaves the Russian vaccine Sputnik V. In the first months, representatives of the right-wing establishment tried to organize a campaign against this vaccine in the spirit of the Ukrainian leadership. Health ministry officials have said that Sputnik V cannot be registered in Moldova until it is approved by the WHO and the European Union. However, against the backdrop of a sharp surge in incidence, even Maia Sandu was forced to turn to Russia with a request to provide Sputnik V to Moldova.
The surge in COVID morbidity and mortality in Moldova occurs against the backdrop of a deep political crisis. The country's President Maia Sandu, blessed with victory in the presidential elections, is full of desire to repeat her success in the parliamentary elections and gain full power in the country. Twice Sandu nominated obviously unqualified candidates for the post of prime minister (the last of them, the new leader of the PAS party Igor Grosu, is known for his actions to block the voting of Transnistrian residents with Moldovan passports in the presidential elections) with the sole purpose of creating conditions for the dissolution of parliament.
On the one hand, the situational parliamentary majority nominated the current Ambassador of Moldova to Russia, a former deputy from the Party of Socialists, and an experienced economist, Vladimir Golovatyuk, as a candidate for Prime Minister of the country. Sandu refused to sign his appointment. The question of whether conditions have been created for the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of early elections must be decided by the Constitutional Court. On the one hand, supporters of the pro-Western vector have a clear majority there. On the other hand, the current chairman of the Constitutional Court, Domnica Manole, is closely connected with the leader of the Dignity and Truth party, Andrei Năstase, Sandu’s former coalition partner, who has old scores to settle with her.
The declaration of a state of emergency does not mean a lockdown, but provides the government with additional powers, in particular, the purchase of the required number of vaccines without holding a tender and the release of funds from the reserve fund for this purpose. The state of emergency means the transfer of power to the Emergency Situations Commission, temporary restriction of human rights and freedoms, such as freedom of movement, strengthening the powers of the army, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Information and Security Service (ISS).
The authorities will be able to set up roadblocks at exits from settlements affected by the pandemic, mobilize citizens for public works, and coordinate media activities to inform the population. The most important point is that during the entire period of the state of emergency (60 days), elections and referendums are not allowed. Thus, not only will it be impossible to call early parliamentary elections, but it will also be necessary to postpone the elections to the People's Assembly of Gagauzia.
Some bloggers and authors of anonymous telegram channels close to Maia Sandu and her camp argue that the interim government, whose powers are limited, does not have the right to appeal to parliament with the initiative to introduce a state of emergency. According to this logic, the Constitutional Court can cancel the decision to introduce a state of emergency. However, the President of Moldova stated that she does not yet intend to go to court.
“I expect concrete actions from the government. If I understand that this is a performance, then I will start acting,” Sandu said.
Today one can hardly expect quick results from the introduction of a state of emergency. However, the vast majority of the population of Moldova agrees with the need for emergency measures to combat COVID (first of all, the maximum possible vaccination of the population), but at the same time, a complete shutdown of the country’s economy, which could further aggravate the economic collapse, is unacceptable. The introduction of a state of emergency in today’s situation is a chance to find a middle ground and a painless exit from the pandemic for the economy.
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