We must be tough and defend our democracy and statehood, President Maia Sandu said, referring to the Constitutional Court’s decision to declare the law that prevented members of the fromer Shor Party from standing for election unconstitional. The official noted that a definitive court decision in the case of each member of the outlawed party, involved in illegalities, could have lasted for years, while democracy in the Republic of Moldova is today in danger and the government must defend the democratic processes by other ways, IPN reports.
The Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the law under which members of the executive body and those holding elective posts of a party declared unconstitutional are prohibited from running in elections. President Sandu said the individualization of punishment and the definitive conviction would have lasted, but the authorities must intervene today to defend democracy and statehood.
“I don’t want to pronounce on the Constitutional Court’s decision, but as a citizen I have a question. What did the Constitutional Court refer to when it outlawed the Shor Party and how this decision can protect democracy in the Republic of Moldova? I understand the argument regarding individual punishment, but in practical terms these would have meant that the case concerning each person involved in the illegal financing of the Shor Party reached court and the court was to pronounce judgments in the case of each person apart. The process would have lasted for ten years in the best case. We know how the courts of law work. Ten years have passed since the bank fraud was committed and only one person has been convicted so far. What will happen to our democracy that is under siege during ten years?” Maia Sandu stated in the program “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.
After the Constitutional Court pronounced its decision, Parliament came together and adopted, as a matter of urgency, a law by which punishment for each member of the former Shor Party was individualized. This way, the state institutions compiled the list of persons who were banned from standing for election.
“Democracy is under the siege of the Russian Federation, which uses these criminal groupings, and through intruders tries to fully interfere with the democratic process. My question to those who adopted this decision is how we can protect the democratic processes? In ten years, it will be too late to save democracy in the Republic of Moldova. You cannot play chess when Russia comes over you with the boxing glove. We must be tough and defend our democracy and statehood,” stated President Sandu.
Under the Parliament decision, among those who are prohibited from running in elections are persons suspected, accused or found guilty of offenses that were mentioned by the Constitutional Court as an argument when it declared the political party unconstitutional, persons who were excluded from an electoral race earlier following the violation of the transparent funding principle and persons who were put on international sanctions lists after they had committed particular illegalities.
