The Causeni Elecition Council has invalidated the victory of Anatolie Donțu in the November 5 local mayoral race on grounds of his disqualification by the National Integrity Authority.

Angelica Caraman, the president of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), said the decision was based on the ruling of the Supreme Court, which upheld the 3-year ban from elected offices imposed by the Integrity Authority on Donțu. “It would be fair to have a comment on the subject from the National Integrity Authority as well”, said Caraman.

Caraman added that when Donțu sought registration in the race, the ban was not yet definitive.

Platforma DA, the party which endorsed Donțu’s candidacy, said it intends to appeal the invalidation and seek punishment for those responsible for this “illegal decision”. “In this battle, we stand not only with the elected mayor of the city of Căușeni, but also with 76% of the city’s residents who decided differently than what the local bandits wanted. We have reasons to believe that the members of the local electoral authority were influenced to adopt this illegal decision”, the party posted on Facebook.