Press Release
on the organization of the fourth electoral debate of the series ”Analyzing Electoral Supply and Demand-2021”. Public debates series held by the news agency IPN in its conference room with the support of the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”

Held on 02 July 2021, Debate No.192 brought together: the candidate of the Electoral Bloc “Renato Usatîi” Natalia Bairam; PACE candidate Ion Straciuc; Current MP Grigore Novac, candidate for MP on behalf of BeCS and Igor Boțan, IPN project’s standing expert.

The candidate of the Electoral Bloc “Renato Usatîi” Natalia Bairam said she has worked as a lawyer since 2007 and then she also started work for a number of human rights organizations. She promoted the rights of children, women and persons with mental disabilities. Their bloc should be voted as it is the only party that does not have former MPs and former ministers on its list, persons involved in cases of corruption or who betrayed and stole. “Our list of candidates includes most of mayors of large towns who hold the second term in office, some of them even the fourth term. The first term in office was obtained based on promises, while the second and third terms were offered to them by the people based on confidence for the implemented projects. We are the persons of concrete politics and accomplishments,” she stated.

The electoral slogan of the bloc is “Iron hand in velvet gloves”. Natalia Bairam assured that the bloc’s program is broad and contains concrete solutions and actions, legislative proposals for each area. A plan for modernizing the country in each sector is needed. All the projects to develop the country can be implemented if a real fight against corruption is launched. For the purpose, political will and concrete actions are needed. “For the purpose, the bloc aims to liquidate the National Anticorruption Center, to reform the Information and Security Service and to create a specialized body that would prevent and fight grand corruption. The bloc also aims to amend the Penal Code and to make criminal penalties for corruption harsher so that the minimum jail term is 15 years,” said the candidate, noting the MPs who switched parties should be stripped of immunity and a new Constitution should be drafted so as to re-form the country.

PACE candidate Ion Straciuc, who is the head of the party’s Bălți Local Organization and deputy secretary general for north region, noted that PACE is a new political party that has never been involved in politics and wasn’t present in Parliament or in the Government. The party aims to change things in the country and to do justice for the people. The PACE’s team consists of doctors famous in the country and abroad, economists, jurists, teachers, lectures, farmers. The members of the party’s team have an average age of 35. Their program strictly complies with citizens’ needs.

In another development, Ion Straciuc said PACE enjoys the support of the citizens as it is permanently in contact with the people. According to a sociological poll, two programs of the PACE platform enjoy the greatest support of the citizens, 80%. Corruption is the “cancer” of society. When they come to power, they will amend the legislation so that 30 former and current MPs who appropriated goods are dispossessed of these. The electronic file will be introduced to strictly monitor the investigation of these persons.

“Reviving Moldova” is the second popular program. “Migration, the incapacity of the political class that managed Moldova the last few years turned Moldova into a divided state. Half of the country’s population forms part of the diaspora and there is a risk that we will disappear as a state in peacetime. PACE comes with a program by which it stimulates the families to have more children. The families with three children will receive a monthly allowance of 9,000 lei, while those with three and more children should also be expected from taxes. Also, the business entities should not pay taxes at the end of the year, but should invest that money.

Current MP Grigore Novac, candidate for MP on behalf of BeCS, said the people should vote for their bloc on July 11 as their large team consists of professionals who in time showed that they can cope with challenges. The greatest economic growth in Moldova was secured in 2006-2008, while the largest investments in the country’s economy were made in 2008, when Zinaida Grechanyi, Igor Dodon and Vladimir Voronin worked hand in hand. The bloc made maximum efforts to present their program in each village, home. Their programs center primarily on the social sphere, the citizens. They started to raise salaries for doctors and health workers and one more rise was to take effect by the yearend, but Parliament was dissolved and the decision could not be adopted. The pensions and scholarships will also be raised. They aim to digitize the economy and to support businesses as they generate incomes into the state budget and this money could be later directed to other areas.

BeCS also aims to keep the traditional values, to stop the discrimination of budget-funded workers so that the guaranteed minimum salary is applied not only in the real sector, but also in the budgetary sphere, to reduce taxes for the citizens with low incomes, to continue indexing the pensions two times a year (small pensions by at least 20% annually), to increase child benefit, to adopt the law on maternal capital, to increase the number of places in kindergartens, to peacefully settle the Transnistrian conflict, in the 5+2 format, through the agency of the Joint Control Commission.

In the July 11 snap parliamentary elections, the Electoral Bloc “RENATO USATÎI will be under No.3 on the ballot, the Building Europe at Home Party “PACE” - under No. 1, while the Electoral Bloc of the Communists and the Socialists - under No. 6.

IPN’s fifth electoral debate set for July 5, 11:15am, will feature the election contenders Veaceslav Valico (independent candidate) and the Party of Regions of Moldova.

The Agency published 4 news stories on the debate (see the English version of www.ipn.md): on 02.07.21, „ Fight against corruption and emphasis on social sphere. Promises of candidates in fourth electoral debate of IPN” - https://www.ipn.md/en/fight-against-corruption-and-emphasis-on-social-sphere-promises-of-8004_1082779.html; „ Grigore Novac: We promise that pensions will be indexed by at least 20% - https://www.ipn.md/en/grigore-novac-we-promise-that-pensions-will-be-indexed-by-8004_1082781.html; „Natalia Bairam: We continue to have captured state” - https://www.ipn.md/en/natalia-bairam-we-continue-to-have-captured-state-8004_1082782.html; „PACE: Through “Knijka” program, we will return money to people - https://www.ipn.md/en/pace-through-knijka-program-we-will-return-money-to-people-8004_1082785.html.  

Valeriu Vasilica, director of IPN