Our great forerunners taught us that all is old and all is new in this world. That’s why presenting something as new is a job. If it had been an art, no one would have seen that the new is actually the old. The protagonists of an attempt to persuade public opinion that they came up with something new, but which is old, took part in the program “Fabrika” broadcast by Publika TV channel on December 11, 2018. The members of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) debated the proposal to draft the Code of Conduct for the electoral period. The party formulated such a proposal in a move to show to the whole society and political players that it wants to set down, from the start, particular rules of the game… by which all the political players should abide, while the competent institutions should monitor the observance of these norms.

As it was noted, the proposal is very interesting, but only because it is old and was presented as something new to the people. In fact, over ten years ago a Code of Conduct concerning the conduct and coverage of the election campaign was worked out and even applied in at least two election campaigns. Actually, the Code of Conduct was introduced by Law No. 176-XVI on July 22 , 2005, when the 101 MPs lived the story of the Declaration on the political partnership for achieving the European integration objectives. In that atmosphere, Article 1 of the Election Code was supplemented with the notion: Code of Conduct – convention signed between electoral competitors and representatives of the mass media on the method of conducting and covering the election campaign that excludes the harming of dignity and spoiling of image of electoral competitors. So, since 2005 this notion has been present in the Election Code.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) made two attempts to put into practice a Code of Conduct designed according to international models. Both of the attempts were someone unsuccessful. The first attempt was made before the local general elections of June 3, 2007. The Code of Conduct worked out by the CEC was treated with a lot of skepticism by the electoral contenders. The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), which dominated the media space and controlled the public institutions in that period, managed to shatter the illusion of the political partnership for achieving the European integration objectives. Before the parliamentary elections of April 5, 2009, the CEC made one more effort to persuade the electoral contenders to sign the Code of Conduct. This time the CEC’s attempt was more effective. The archive of Info-Prim Neo Agency keeps the names of the 13 political parties of the 28 registered that on January 23, 2019 signed the Code of Conduct: Our Moldova Alliance (AMN), Republican Party Moldova (PRM), Ecologist Party “Green Alliance” (PEAV), Spiritual Development Party “United Moldova” (PDSMU), Social Democrat Party  (PSD), Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), Communists Party of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova “Patria-Rodina” (PSRMPR), Movement of Professionals “Speranta” (PPSH), Liberal Party (PL), Centrist Union (UCM), People’s Christian Democratic Party (PPCD).

So, the leaders and members of the 13 parties, including the PDM, should remember what they signed about ten years ago, but they actually don’t. That’s why the attitude of some of the representatives of the parties that signed the Coe of Conduct designed by the CEC should be emphasized:

- Veaceslav Untila, of the AMN – “In this election campaign, we will make effort to show how good we, those from AMN, are and not how bad the allies are... We are yet somehow concerned that this cod will not be respected”;
- Ion Cebanu, of the PL – “The PL will always back any action of the CEC…This convention is however rather symbolic in character and makes the electoral competitors not to go beyond legal limits”;
- Vlad Filat, of the PLDM – “We undertake to take part in this electoral race with a constructive message. We will not apply the Moldovan practice of attacking persons, and other competitors are also bound to commit themselves to do so”;
- Vitalia Pavlichenko, of the PNL – “Pretending to observe the Election Code, the CEC developed this Code of Conduct to actually create the illusion that there can be free and democratic elections in Moldova. But free elections cannot be held under an oppressing Communist regime... The parties that signed the Code did it for their images mostly, to show they are good, but they will realize they made a mistake and will breech it because they will have to retort to the dirt that the Red-Orange coalition is going to pour over their heads.”

It’s a pity that the current innovators of the PDM didn’t invite the representatives of the other 12 parties that, alongside the PDM, signed the Code of Conduct on January 23, 2009 to the December 11 program. It would be interesting to know how their attitudes to this document changed. This would have been also important for the participants in the program, Democratic MP Corneliu Mihalache, who said the idea of working out a Code of Conduct is a noble intention of the party. He would have learned that 12 more parties had such a noble intention ten years ago.

Not inviting the signatories of the Code of Conduct of 2009 is a big omission of the TV channel. Evidently, this omission can be explained. That Code of Conduct, with the signatures of the leaders of 13 parties, could have burned on April 7, 2009, as the Declaration of Independence did. This is where the noble intentions can lead us to. God protect us!

However, the recent initiative of the PDM does not lack innovatory potential. For example, the PDM could reformulate its own initiative into the Code of Conduct for the period between elections and write there, for example, what the parties should not do between elections and in the election campaign. Such a document would be necessary indeed and this should ban the parties from:

- concentrating the media outlets in the hands of leaders for propaganda, especially on TV channels that retransmit channels from countries involved in the hybrid war;
- giving the voters “baskets with food products” as a present for forming conditioned reflexes in them;
- hiding the activity behind charitable foundations and social stores; bringing artists from countries involved in the hybrid war to sing for voters as if for free, etc.

Such a Code of Conduct is actually needed and the PDM has the real chance of drafting and promoting it. So, Avante PDM! For Moldova! For free and fair elections! 

IPN Experts