Twenty years of independence have demonstrated that the process of building the Moldovan state is extremely difficult and far from being fulfilled. The unsettled Transnistrian conflict, the rush for citizenship of other countries, the exodus of citizens are just some symptoms of failure to implement the Moldovan statehood project.

In 2007, the Republic of Moldova became the EU neighboring country, and following 2009 and 2010 parliamentary elections it became possible to create AEI-1 and AEI-2. The citizens of the Republic of Moldova were involved in 2009-2010 political processes not for the purpose of changing the faces, shown on TV channels, but wishing a real change of the situation in the society. This desire of citizens is supported by our development partners, for the first time depicting an optimistic perspective for the Moldovan society.

Unfortunately, today we witness the process of deepening political crisis in the Republic of Moldova in the context of demoralization and internal tensions rise in the society. The Moldovan political class, represented by the parliamentary parties, proves to be unable to elect the President of the Republic of Moldova, this way ensuring the minimum conditions for an efficient and stable government. As a result, the Republic of Moldova is on the verge of total collapse of expectations related to the partnership with the EU.

The constitutional obligation to elect the President belongs to all members of the Parliament. The alarming situation is caused by the total irresponsibility of the parliamentary parties, which have transformed the issue of presidential elections in a shameful fair, based on arrogance and obscure interests. We find, especially after overcoming the problem of participation quorum in the presidential elections that the main political responsibility for this failure lies with the AEI as a whole, which has failed to propose an acceptable candidate for this position.

The idea of amending the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova through a referendum, based on non-population principles in the society, and completely opposed to those proposed for constitutional referendum of September 5, 2010, is too risky and does not guarantee the overcoming of the current political crisis. The eventual failure of such a referendum will be a serious blow to Moldova's statehood, as well as will compromise notions of democracy and any European perspective for the current generation.
We consider that the current political crisis will be overcome by separating the issue of election of the country’s President from that of the constitutional reform. The eventual referendum under existing conditions will aggravate the instability of democratic institutions and will threaten the constitutional foundation of the country.

Considering that the current political crisis requires urgent implementation of the following actions, we, members of civil society, demand:
1. To resume the presidential election process, initiated on October 20, 2011 and suspended contrary to the rule of law;
2. To return to the idea of amending the Constitution in the Parliament of Moldova, under conditions of political stability ensured after election of the country’s President;
3. To urgently organize a public roundtable with the participation of parliamentary parties and civil society representatives to discuss the criteria and the Presidential candidates; the process of nominating candidates must become an open one, with Moldovan citizens’ involvement being as active as possible;
4. To organize public debates between the potential candidates for the strongest to be appointed and proposed for voting by the Parliament;
5. To the Members of the Parliament of to commit to abandon the harsh practices, in particular the boycott of the Presidential elections as required by the Constitutional Court Decision of September 20, 2011;
6. To the parliamentary parties to respond to citizens' initiatives to overcome political and moral crisis, which has become a real threat to our common future.

Chisinau
January 20, 2012

The signatories:
1. Dr. Arcadie Barbarosie
2. Dr. Igor Botan
3. Dr. Viorel Cibotaru
4. Oazu Nantoi
5. Revenco Eugen
6. Dr. Andrievschii Vitalii
7. Dr. Alexandru Solcan