The president of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Iurie Ciocan said the elections in Moldova are not rigged, despite attempts. He made such a statement in the talk show “Interpol” on TV 7 channel, IPN reports.

“The votes have never been stolen in Moldova. The voters may be manipulated through the mass media or social networking sites, but stealing of votes in favor of a particular party didn’t exist. The leaving by one party or another of the government is due to the fact that this party didn’t meet people’s expectations. The voters are conscious and cannot be manipulated continuously,” stated Iurie Ciocan.

He also said that the institution he heads is not politically controlled. “I have worked for 12 years at the CEC. I also worked when the Communist Party was in power and when the power changed. Neither in 2009 did they rig the elections, as it was asserted. Not even one case of rigging was proven. In fact, nobody even filed a challenge to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The defection of Marian Lupu from the PCRM in 2009 led to the migration of votes from the PCRM. There were earlier cases when contestants needed several thousand votes more and asked me to do something, but I firmly kept my position,” said Ciocan.

Iurie Ciocan considers all the state institutions are politically controlled, except for the CEC. “All the state institutions are politically controlled. The politicians come to power for this particular purpose. But it depends on the way in which they do it. The assertions that the CEC is controlled politically are only speculations,” he said.