The joint candidate for President of the center-right Maia Sandu said a number of irregularities are witnessed in the current election campaign, with the use by the Democratic Party (PDM) of the administrative resources and intimidation of voters and mayors by it being the most serious ones, IPN reports.

“In meetings with voters, we are informed about a lot of cases of intimidation. The people are warned that if they do not vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate, they will suffer somehow or will lose their job,” Maia Sandu stated in a news conference.

The candidate said enormous pressure is exerted on the local public administration, especially mayors, who are intimidated by different methods. Criminal cases are started against them and they are told they will not get financing for community projects if they do not secure a sufficient number of votes for the PDM’s candidate or they will receive smaller state budget allocations.

“Such things must not be accepted. We know that the mayors are elected by people from the community and these people are the only ones to whom the mayors must report. We need leaders at the local and national levels. When we have good mayors and good managers, we will be able to change the situation all over the country. We need authentic decentralization and financing based on correct principles, depending on necessities and achievements, not on the affiliation with a political party. We know that such pressure continues to be exerted so as to make people join the PDM,” stated Maia Sandu.

Mayor of Puhoi village of Ialoveni district Petru Frunze told the same news conference that the mayors are intimidated financially. He gave as example the amounts allocated by the Romanian state for rehabilitating Moldovan kindergartens, saying that this year this money was distributed according to political principles, not depending on local needs. The mayors are blackmailed, but they are afraid to inform about this. The size of allocations from the state budget also depends on the political affiliation. In Puhoi, the transfer of allocations is blocked each two-three months and the local authorities have to cut the local budget. Mayors of Edinet and Causeni reported a similar situation.

Maiei Sandu is the joint candidate for the office of President of Moldova of the Party “Action and Solidary”, which she heads, the Party “Platform Dignity and Truth” and the Liberal Democratic Party. Several other center-right parties expressed their support for this candidate.