The Chisinau Court of Appeal rejected the appeals filed separately by Ludmila Corsun and Valeriu Pleșca, after the Central Electoral Commission refused to register their initiative groups in the presidential race.

On August 24, the CEC rejected Ludmila Corsun’s group after it was found that the potential candidate’s Romanian proficiency level was inadequate.

As for Valeriu Pleșca, who was nominated by the European Social Democratic Party (PSDE), the CEC cited procedural irregularities in the nomination process.

The PSDE reacted to today’s ruling by saying it was disappointed. “This ruling is absurd and baseless. We have every reason to believe that it was politically motivated. Valeriu Pleșca is a well-known personality in Moldova and it is obvious that, having the support of the third largest political force in the country (based on the results of the general local elections), he had every chance of achieving a good result in the presidential election”, the party said in a statement.