The election campaign in single-member constituencies is dirty as the parties resort to different cunning stratagems in order to attract the people on their side. The PDM, PSRM and the Shor Party use such tricks most often. The parties also conduct denigrating campaigns against each other. The opinions were stated by representatives of the electoral bloc ACUM, the Party of Communists and the Party of Socialists in the public debate “Elections 2019: Please elect me MP because...”, which was the 101th installment of the series “Developing political culture through public debates” and was staged by IPN News Agency on January 30, 2019.
Elena Bodnarenco, who runs for MP on behalf of the Party of Communists, said the role of parties was significantly diminished when the mixed electoral system was introduced, but the parties are those that can really influence all the spheres of life. The PCRM noticed numerous violations committed in single-member constituencies by the electoral contenders of the PDM, PSRM and the Shor Party since last September, long before the election campaign. “I refer to the initial stage of fielding candidates, offering of presents and adoption of those social laws by the Democrats before the New Year, such as the provision of lump sums in support and the rise in pensions,” stated the Communist candidate.
“There is also that information vacuum created by the TV channels affiliated to the PDM and PSRM, which set exaggerated prices for pre-electoral advertisements. This shows that the parties weren’t sincere with the voters then or now as they replaced the electoral system in order to remain in power and to do those dirty things owing to which Moldova became popular during the past ten years,”.
Bogdan Țîrdea, of the Party of Socialists, said a campaign was launched to discredit the PSRM and this is coordinated by the PDM that wants by all means to enter Parliament where to form an alliance with the Communists of the Shor Party. “That’s why the PCRM and the Shor Party are daily shown on Prime, Canal 2 and Canal 3. That’s why the PCRM and the Shor Party are favored by Democrats’ polls that give them chances of entering Parliament. That’s why some of the criminal cases started against these parties are “on hold” and these and many other parties attack only the PSRM,” stated the candidate.
The Socialist noted the mixed electoral system, as other systems, has many minuses, but he could not vote against it and this was included in the program of the PSRM. Asked if the system advantages the PDM, Bogdan Țîrdea said the state was captured when the proportional representation system was used and the current system advantages all the parties. When Communist candidate Elena Bodnarenko reproached that the PSRM started to present the candidates before the start of the election campaign without being punished by the CEC, Bogdan Țîrdea said this happened during the campaign to inform about elections and this is permitted by the Election Code.
Alexandru Slusari, of the electoral bloc ACUM PAS and DA Platform, said the law to amend the electoral system is unclear and unknown to the citizens. There is lack of information. The people do not understand why this system was needed and why the referendum is needed. The election campaign is dirty. Activist Gheorghe Petic is in jail, while Dinu Plângău was beaten right on the stairs of the Edineț Police Inspectorate. They start criminal cases and follow persons in the current election campaign.
“For us, Plahotniuc’s policy is clear. He has no chance in Chisinau and other cities and focuses on several constituencies that are shared with the PSRM. There, the Socialist candidates are weaker and Plahotniuc banks on victory there. Where there are the candidates of the bloc ACUM or other candidates, all the available instruments are used to place obstacles. There, the repression crossed all limits,” stated Alexandru Slusari, noting that if the election campaign continues this way the next few weeks, the foreign partners can question the legality of the upcoming elections.
A representative of the Democratic Party that tops the list of candidates on the ballot was also invited to the debate, but this didn’t present himself even if an official representative confirmed the invitation was received six days ago.
The electoral contenders are invited to the electoral debates held by IPN Agency in accordance with the order in which they were registered by the Central Election Commission.
Candidates of the Shor Party, the People’s Movement “Antimafie”, the Our Party and the National Liberal Party confirmed their participation in the debate scheduled for January 31, 2pm.
The series of debates “Elections 2019: Please elect me MP because...”, forms part of the series of public debates held by IPN News Agency as part of the project “Developing political culture through public debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
