Of the 11 candidates who managed to collect the necessary signatures from voters, only one will take over the management of the country for the next four years. The decision will be taken at the polls on October 20. IPN News Agency provides a comprehensive description of each presidential election candidate, including their professional and personal background, held positions, declared income and property, as well as their promises for the future of the Republic of Moldova. Know the candidates, choose responsibly!

Natalia Morari is an independent candidate for the office of President of the Republic of Moldova.

She was born on January 12, 1984 in Hânceşti. She studied sociology at “Mikhail Lomonosov” Moscow State University. In Moscow, she began her career in journalism, in the editorial office of the Russian publication “Novoe Vremea”. She said she was expelled from Russia because of her journalistic investigations, which allegedly bothered people in the Kremlin. At the same time, Natalia Morari throughout her career has been accused of being an agent of influence of the Russian Federation, accusations that she categorically rejects.

In the Republic of Moldova, she was involved in a number of sociopolitical activities. She was among the organizers of the April 2009 protests, a merit highlighted in the CV she presented when she submitted the file for contending for President. “Being the leader of the organization “Think Moldova”, I formed part of the main organizers of the April 7, 2009 protests, along with other civic activists. The demonstrations were generated by our dissatisfaction with the result of the parliamentary elections, as a result of which the PCRM obtained a majority,” wrote Natalia Morari.

In Moldovan journalism, she started to assert herself in 2010 with her own show at Publika TV, where she worked until 2013. Later, she launched another project at TV7, a television station then owned by former MP Kiril Luchinski, who was investigated in one of the BEM cases. According to press reports, Natalia Morari had a love affair with Kiril Luchinski. Subsequently, TV7 was rebranded and transformed into TV8, and Natalia Morari essentially contributed to the launch of the new station, which was designed as an independent television channel financed with the help of foreign partners.

She moderated her projects as an author at TV8 until she had to withdraw from the company at the insistence of her colleagues, including the Managing Board, due to the scandal in which she was involved after it was confirmed that businessman Veaceslav Platon, convicted of scams and money laundering in particularly large proportions, is the father of her child. Morari said that she was blackmailed with these details from her private life in order to be excluded from the management of TV8. The accusations were rejected by the media outlet, with which Morari had a number of legal disputes.

After her relationship with Veaceslav Platon, who was put on the international wanted list, became known, she suspended her career of journalist. She later returned to the public space, launching an online project sponsored with thousands of euros. Morari denied that the sponsor was Veaceslav Platon.

In her property statement for last year, she declared up to 85,000 lei from Media Sapiens SRL, a company she manages. She also declared a donation of €36,000 in the name of her son, without indicating the donor, and over 20,000 lei proceeds from the sale of properties. She owns a 176-square-meter apartment, which belongs to her son as she recently said in an interview, and also a luxury car, a Mercedes made in 2023. Morari also declared three objects acquired by donation, whose value is higher than ten average monthly salaries in the economy, including a $7,000 Rolex watch, an $8,000 Chanel watch and a Chanel bag worth more than $10,000.

Also, the candidate owns a number of bank accounts in Moldova, on which she keeps over 270,000 lei. She also declared Bitcoin cryptocurrencies worth over $16,000, two loans of 456,000 lei and €5,200 taken out from a bank and a lending organization in Moldova.

Natalia Morari launched her election campaign with a program entitled “New Moldova”. She said she wants to be the President of the new generation and her slogan for the election is “Change here and now”.

She does not neglect pensioners either, to whom she promises higher pensions, but also monthly vouchers of 1,500 lei for local food products, thus aiming to stimulate the demand for local products. “One of my first initiatives as President will be to promote a pay raise rule by which representatives of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova will not be able to increase their salaries before raising the pensions of the elderly by the 1:2 ratio at least. That is if the MPs or ministers want to increase their salaries by 10%, they must first raise pensions by 20%,” said the candidate.

The State Mortgage Program with an annual interest rate of only 1% is another initiative announced by Natalia Morari. The down payment will not exceed 10% of the value of the home. “No additional fees will be charged and there will be no age restrictions. That is the limit will not be the age of up to 45 years. A document confirming the existence of a permanent job, a business or a pension will be enough,” said the presidential candidate. She also proposes to create the National Mortgage Agency, which will be responsible for offering mortgages directly to citizens, taking over risks from commercial banks and ensuring the stability of the real estate market. The National Mortgage Agency will become the lender of last resort for real estate market participants.

Natalia Morari occupies the last, 11th place on the list of candidates on the ballot for the October 20 presidential election.