The same people have been in power in Moldova for 10-20 years, but the political class should be changed as often as possible, aspirant for the office of President of Moldova Ilie Rotaru stated in the public debate “Specific features of the presidential elections 2016: vision of aspirants and candidates for the office of President of the Republic of Moldova”, which forms part of the series of electoral public debates “What kind of President is society looking for? What society does the President need?” that are organized by IPN News Agency.

“We must try and choose others. If these show that they do something for the country, they should remain for several terms in office. If they do nothing during four years, they should be replaced by others,” stated Ilie Rotaru, who is sure that the October 30 elections will be won by a candidate who is convenient for the current government.

The aspirant noted that the positive feature of the upcoming elections is the fact that the people have the right to choose the President themselves. “But the problem resides in the possibility of rigging the elections. Many people underestimate the role of the observers and representatives on the election day and this is a big problem that enables vote rigging. All the opposition parties should have professional representatives who will oversee the elections,” he said.

Ilie Rotaru also said that nobody expects that the independent candidates will play a role as the government decided who the President will be. “We will witness a show and the people are the spectators,” he stated.

Speaking about his discussions with the voters, Ilie Rotaru said the people are angry and if some of the candidates are not protected by bodyguards, these could be attacked in the street. “The people are annoyed. They know who they should vote. They want a reliable person to appear. Most of the voters decided who to vote for. The task of the opposition is to ensure transparency in the October 30 elections. The people can choose a President,” he concluded.

The September 27 public debate is the 62nd installment of the series of public debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are staged by IPN with the support of the German foundation “Hanns Seidel”.