The candidate of the European People's Party for the position of mayor of Chisinau, Dumitru Țîra, warns local voters on "elements of limiting the freedom of expression on the part of the Socialist Party". The electoral contender says that, after giving an interview to a media institution, it did not decipher it exactly, and in the end did not publish it. Also, a media portal has refused to publish it under the commercial conditions of the election campaign and this is because, says Dumitru Țîra, the owner of the portal is on the list of PSRM advisers.

At an IPN press conference, the candidate stated that during that interview he referred largely to the local elections. "But the day after the interview, his colleagues were informed that it would not be published, because they were called by the PSRM and told that the party was the basic partner of the publication and that the interview with Dumitru Țîra could not be published." According to him, later, the decision was made to publish the interview on other Russian-language platforms. Although another publication accepted to broadcast the interview under commercial conditions of the election campaign, in the end the editorial board refused to publish it.

A third destination was a portal, which also refused to publish the interview. Moreover, it later published a denigrating and untruthful article about him. Dumitru Țîra says he expected them not to publish it, as the portal owner is on the PSRM list for Chisinau Municipal Council. "We sent this morning to several ambassadors and international organizations, including those monitoring the elections, letters to inform international partners about the campaign's progress in general, but also about this specific situation. At the same time, I want to urge the non-governmental organizations and national observers, in particular, to take note of this situation and to pay attention to these elements of limiting the freedom of expression and freedom of the media, committed by the Socialist Party”, mentioned the candidate.

Dumitru Țîra also referred to the letter he received from the Minister of Justice, Olesea Stamate, asking him to withdraw from the Integrity Council (CI). He says he sent a letter to the minister informing her that he had acquired the Council membership through a contest. According to the candidate, throughout this period he has exercised his mandate in an irreproachable way, presiding and participating in most meetings, more than his colleagues. Dumitru Țîra has also said that, in case he is dismissed or removed in contravention of the law, there is a risk that the CI will become dysfunctional, because it will no longer have a quorum. The electoral contender also mentioned that, when he decided to get involved in the election campaign, he addressed his colleagues in the Council a request by which he announced his intention, suspending himself for this period.

In other news, Dumitru Țîra has specified that, if he becomes mayor, in the first four months of work, he would select an international company to audit the expenses and purchases made by the City Hall, as well as its sub-divisions. The candidate intends to set up new procedures for managing municipal money, with 100% protection against corruption schemes, influence trafficking, favouritism and bureaucracy.

Round-up of the electoral events of October 4, 2019