The elections in uninominal constituencies should not be boycotted. The electoral contenders should struggle by all means so as to have greater representation in Parliament. As the law on the introduction of the mixed electoral system was adopted, this should be respected, representatives of the Liberal Party (PL) and the Ecologist Green Party (PVE) stated in the public debate ”Elections 2019: Please elect me MP because...”, which was the 104th installment of the series “Developing political culture through public debates” staged by IPN News Agency.
Anatolie Prohnitski, a candidate for MP of the PVE, said the law that replaced the electoral system in Moldova was adopted and the next elections are held based on this. That’s why this law should be respected. If someone does not like it, they should not use this instrument. But we see the opposite yet. Many parties fielded candidates in constituencies even if they said they don’t like the system and this is populism.
“This is a new system, but who should explain the voting method to the people? All the candidates say from all screens that they want the people to live well. The largest part of the population knows how to vote. Most of the people inform themselves and are interested in politics and in elections. I think the voters will make a correct choice and we will have a Parliament with new forces,” stated the politician.
Vlad Biletski, a candidate of the PL who runs in uninominal constituency No.26 Centru Buicani, said the elections in constituencies should not be boycotted. “We should struggle by any means, even unjust ones. The mixed system is unjust for us, especially for the pro-European ones as it advantages only the parties of the left. The pro-Europeans are dispersed throughout the Republic of Moldova and there is no area where they would be concentrated. Only the proportional representation system could ensure the representation of everyone. The proportional representation system had a drawback – thieves and other persons appeared incognito on party lists. But this aspect can be solved by open lists when the people can vote the candidate from the list they consider the most suitable,” he stated.
The candidate considers the mixed electoral system means halving of the number of MPs elected based on party lists. “The constituency part is very noxious from the start as those from the Transnistrian region, who do not contribute at all to the budget of the Republic of Moldova, on the contrary contribute to the diminution of budget resources as they do not register their vehicles in Moldova, do not pay taxes, consume fuel, gas and energy resources that the Republic of Moldova is obliged to pay to the Russian Federation. These get two seats of MP, while those from the European Union, starting with Romania and ending with Spain, obtain only one seat,” stated the representative of the PL.
According to him, the rules of the game were designed so that the Party of Socialists and the Democratic Party can win in constituencies. That’s why the elections cannot be considered free, democratic and fair. The rules of the game are in favor of some and to the disadvantage of others. “The first recommendation for the voters is not to take the two ballots for the referendum and to take only those for the parliamentary elections. In constituencies, don’t vote for incognito persons whom you don’t know, who never lived in the constituency and who represent oligarchic parties and parties of the left,” stated Vlad Biletski.
The Political Party “Patria” was also invited to the February 5 debate, but this delegated no representative to take part.
The contestants are invited to the electoral debates held by IPN Agency in accordance with the order in which they were registered by the Central Election Commission. The debate on January 30 involved representatives of the electoral bloc ACUM, the Party of Communists and the Party of Socialists. Representatives of the Shor Party, the People’s Movement Antimafie, the Our Party and the National Liberal Party took part in the January 31 debate. The debate held on February 4 involved representatives of the Party “People’s Will”, the Party “Democracy at Home” and the Professionals’ Movement “Speranța-Nadejda”.
Of the 15 election contestants, the invitation to the debate was rejected by the Democratic Party, the Party of Regions and the Political Party “Patria”.
The series of debates “Elections 2019: Please elect me MP because...”, forms part of the series of public debates held by IPN News Agency as part of the project “Developing political culture through public debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
