The inhabitants of Orhei town are urged not to vote in the October 30 presidential elections by the ex-candidate for President of the Movement “Ravnopravie” (Shor Party) Inna Popenko, IPN reports.

“My exclusion from the electoral race is the hand of the current government that got scared of my popularity as I could have taken from the votes of Maia Sandu (joint candidate of the center-right, e.n.). This is not penalized even if she appears in pictures with foreign politicians and officials, in breach of the law. I think in such conditions the elections cannot be legitimate and I do not understand why the foreign embassies keep silent. I consider these reached an agreement with the current government,” Inna Popenko stated in a press briefing on October 24.

Inna Popenko called upon the residents of Orhei town not to vote in the upcoming elections. “We should show them this way that they will not humiliate us and will not use us as voting machines. The elections will be rigged and will not be legal. There are no reasons for voting,” she stated.

The ex-candidate’s lawyer Denis Ulanov said the decision to remove Inna Popenko from the race for the presidency was taken with violations of the legislation. “They acted artificially, based on suppositions and by interpreting the law. They examined an event of a social campaign launched earlier in Orhei. This campaign is designed to support the most vulnerable group of people – the pensioners. Inna Popenko does not organize such events. She only supports them and became involved in them long before the elections were called. In such a context, any candidate can be accused of making different promises and of taking part in different events, etc.” stated the lawyer.

Inna Popenko was removed from the presidential race following an irrevocable decision passed by the Supreme Court of Justice last weekend. She was accused of corrupting voters and of not declaring all the costs incurred in the election campaign.