Moldovan Supreme Court of Justice cancels Chisinau Court of Appeal's ruling on initiation of constitutional referendum

Chisinau, 22 April /MOLDPRES/ - The Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) today annulled a ruling by the Chisinau-based Court of Appeal on the cancellation of the Central Electoral Commission’s (CEC) decision on turning down the organisation of a constitutional referendum.   
Under the decision, “CSJ ruled for the annulment of the decision by the Chisinau-based Court of  Appeal from 14 April 2016, adopted according to application for summons submitted by the initiative group for holding the republican constitutional referendum against CEC, on the cancellation of the latter’s ruling “On the results of the checking of the subscription lists, presented by the initiative group for holding the republican constitutional referendum” and obliging CEC to adopt a decision on initiation of the constitutional referendum,” the CSJ decision says.   
The new CSJ ruling also says that “the College describes as grounded the arguments of CEC, which explained that the subscription lists, presented by the initiative group, do not contain the minimum number of 20,000 signatures necessary for each of those at least 18 second-level administrative and territorial units and describes the decision by the court of original jurisdiction as an erroneous treatment of the legislation on the matter, which was correctly showed by CEC in the appeal declared.”
The constitutional referendum was regarding the change of the way the Moldovan president is elected, cut in the number of MPs to 71 and limiting their immunity.
Following the checking of the subscription lists, CEC head Iurie Ciocan said that “the commission found out that the initiative group failed to submit 20,000 signatures from at least a half of the administrative and territorial units.”  
CEC’s ruling was appealed at the Court of Appeal on 5 April.   
On 14 March 2016, the members of the Dignity and Truth Platform submitted to CEC over 400,000 signatures, collected for holding the republican referendum on revising the Fundamental Law. The draft on Constitution’s amendment was submitted to CEC on 5 November 2015.  
The decision by the Supreme Court of Justice is irrevocable.
(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor A. Raileanu)